Tomorrow Already
by Scribe
Summary: Its five years after Weekend Away - Chloe Sullivan has been dead for five years and Lois has been left to cope with life without Clark. The past returns to haunt the Ace Report for Daily Planet with the arrival of a new hero to Metropolis - Superman.
1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE: NEWS REELS

District Attorney RJ Brande issued a press release today that Lex Luthor of Lex Corp has been taken into custody and held for questioning in the death of Chloe Sullivan. Mr. Luthor had been under investigation for the last six weeks following the discovery of Daily Planet reporter Chloe Sullivan whose decomposed body was found washed up at a beach in New Troy Island on November 25th.

"We had been conducting our own investigation into the matter," Brande was quoted to have said, "However, the break in the case came when Lois Lane, cousin to the late Miss Sullivan, was able to provide us with documentary and digital evidence that can be taken to a Grand Jury."

Lois Lane's altruism did not prevent her, however, from securing her first Daily Planet headline, having arrived at an agreement with the DA's office to break the story first. Since the media frenzy following Luthor's arrest, Lane has retreated to the home of Senator Martha Kent, a long time friend.

The arrest is latest chapter in the saga the press have labeled Lex Gate. Chloe Sullivan had been investigating claims of unorthodox experiments in Lex Corps weapons division at the time of her disappearance on November 17th.

Miss Sullivan had risen in prominence following her award winning story outlining the plight of the 'Meteor Generation'. Coining the term to describe the high number of mutated individuals that have been appearing since the Smallville Meteor Shower of eighteen years ago, Miss Sullivan had championed the rights of these people in the press and by raising consciousness of their daily difficulties.

Along with Senator Martha Kent, Industrialist Oliver Queen and other respected members of the journalistic community, Miss Sullivan had fought to help the Meteor Generation overcome prejudice, harm and to some degree physical danger owing to their abilities.

Mr. Bruce Wayne, engaged to Miss Sullivan, could not be reached for comment.


	2. Chapter 2

HAPTER ONE: ANNIVERSARY

_November 17th – Five Years Later_

It was late.

The office was silent except for the distant drone of a vacuum cleaner on the other side of the floor. People called her diligent. She was a hard worker. She worked through lunch and sometimes past five. Eight weeks she had been in the job and everyone was questioning how they ever got along without Chloe Bly. As always in such situations, when colleagues discovered how helpful and astute one was, the habit to pass on more work was irresistible and when Chloe revealed she could deliver, the practice continued and even increased.

Soon she was handling important projects, given access to sensitive material Two months after the temping agency had sent Chloe Bly to the offices of Stagg Industries, she had become indispensable. There was even talk of offering her a full time job. Chloe Bly did not allow the compliments to distract her focus and everyone admired the way she handled compliments. A true lady, they said within lunchrooms and closed offices.

Chloe Bly looked up from her desk, seeing no one else around. The report for James Tomlison was nearly done and she stood up to stretch her legs. Health and Safety protocols recommended a break every 50 minutes to combat arthritis and the lengthy disability litigation that came with it. She took a walk down the aisle, surveying the empty cubicles and noting the cleaning lady who was vacuuming the hall outside the main office area. Waving at Hannah, who spoke no English and with whom Chloe could communicate with awkward hand signals, Chloe made her way towards the ladies room, holding a small clutch purse under her arm as she walked.

The corridor that led to the ladies room also led to the executive offices, both out of Hannah's line of sight. Almost to the ladies room door, Chloe changed her course at the last minute and ducked into the hallway that led to executive branch of the company. Proceeding quickly up the stairs, she knew that any security camera watching her would have no question about her appearance. Over the last two weeks, she was a familiar face they had seen working late and often going to the Ivory Tower (the management floor) to drop off documents and such.

They had grown complacent by now, she was convinced.

Simon Stagg was not in his office today. In fact, none of the management team were present. Stagg had arranged a cooperate retreat and they were up in Aspen, apparently working. Right, she snorted cynically as she saw the gold embossed plaque on a door at the far end of the floor.

SIMON STAGG  
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

As always, he left the door open because too often his assistant, a dippy thing named Christine, required entry into the room to plan his day on his electronic diary or leave papers on his desk. Whatever. On this occasion, Christine had joined him at Aspen so Chloe was able to move about without scrutiny. Entering the office, she slid immediately into Stagg's comfortable leather chair and nestled herself in front of his PC.

Waiting for a few minutes in case any security guard decided to happen along or had issue with her being on the floor, Chloe spent the time observing Mr. Stagg's accomplishments, all displayed on the walls, commendations from the city, various charity organisations and one signature picture of 'You know Who' at the last election rally. The man was very powerful, Chloe thought, with lots of friends. This had better be worth it.

Confident that no one was coming, Chloe Bly went to work.

Twenty minutes later, she walked out of the building to the rented Ford Festiva in the parking lot. Once inside the vehicle, she tossed the blond wig she had been wearing the past two months that itched like a son of a bitch and made her skin broil under the scalp. Discarded as well was the non-prescription glasses she wore to make up the dowdy persona of Chloe Bly. Running her fingers through brunette locks, Lois Lane drove out of the Stagg Industries carpark with her next front page story contained on a USB memory stick in her purse.

**************

EXCLUSIVE!

STAGG INDUSTRY TO SMUGGLE EGYPTIAN ARTIFACT OUT OF BRITISH MUSEUM!

By Lois Lane

The British Museum was rocked today when it was discovered that Head Curator Steven Collison had been planning to steal the Museum's newest star attraction, the Orb of Ra, after 1 million dollars was deposited into a Cayman Island account bearing his name from Industrialist Simon Stagg.

The Orb of Ra, uncovered six months ago in a previously undisturbed chamber of the Menkaure Pyramid, has garnered considerable interest not only from Egyptologists but also from physicists. Preliminary examinations of the artefact indicated that it is generating some form of neutron radiation, something that is not known to occur unless produced by isotopes of helium-5 and beryllium-13.

The nature of the artefact has forced the British Government to take possession and conduct more further research in more secure surroundings. The Orb of Ra was due to be transported from London to Wingate on the 1st of December. However, emails from Mr. Collison to Simon Stagg revealed the specifics of the route to be taken as well as the special radio frequency to be employed by security personnel in charge of the transfer. It was believed that the transport vehicle would have been hijacked on route under Mr. Collison's direction….

"Congratulations Lois," Jimmy Olsen grinned, clinking his glass of champagne against hers as he sat at the edge of her desk, joining the small celebration in the newsroom at the latest Lois Lane scoop, "another great headline!"

Jimmy's statement was followed by the applause of the other reporters around her and Lois bowed her head graciously, accepting their congratulations with a happy smile. "Thank you, thank you all!" She laughed. "It was nothing, I'm just amazingly good at what I do that's all." She joked, eliciting howls of laughter throughout the group who knew her well enough to know that not all of it was an idle boast. Consistently bringing headlines over the last five years, Lois had earned their respect a long time ago. She was Perry White's star reporter and had gotten the appellation though sheer hard work and more bravado than anyone was supposed to have.

"Oh God," Catherine Grant, the Planet's gossip columnist groaned sarcastically, "must we do this every time she gets a front page story? I mean it's not like her head is too big enough to fit through the door already." She threw Lois a sanguine look.

"Do I need to get clear?" Jimmy asked, more than accustomed to the rivalry between the duo since they had wandered into each other's orbit.

"I'm going," Cat snorted, heading to her little cubicle of the newsroom floor, "before they start throwing garlands at her feet." She gave Lois a look before turning away, her blonde hair flouncing behind her.

"Alright!" Perry White stuck his head out of his office and hollered loudly, "I'm sure you people have work to do! This is a newspaper! Not the Russian Tea Room! Get moving!"

Jimmy cast Lois a look and retorted, "I heard he was nice once," the photographer smirked, "but I can't get a source to confirm that."

"Olsen!" Perry hollered, "Aren't you supposed to be covering the Auto Fair at Century Towers?"

"You better going," Lois advised, sipping her champagne.

"I'm on it Chief!" Jimmy turned to the man who was part William Randolph Hearst, part Walter Kronkite but mostly junkyard dog.

"Don't call me Chief!" Perry scowled and retreated into his office, a cigar clamped between his teeth.

Of course, he had been the one who provided the champagne.

Lois loved the newsroom. She loved the energy and the people who worked in it. Jimmy had returned from overseas four years ago and despite a rather curious relationship with Perry White, beneath his boyish manner was a first rate photo-journalist. Even Cat who was good at whatever it is she did.

Here, Lois was in her element and after searching all her life for a place to be, it had surprised her to no end that home was the place she least expected it to be.

"So are you coming over tonight?" He asked her as he went to his desk and started packing his camera bag. "Lucy's going to order Chinese take out, you know she'd love to see you."

"I know," Lois admitted wanting to catch up with her sister but not today, "but I've got plans this evening so I guess you two are just going to have to get along without me."

Jimmy stopped what he was doing and stared at her, all traces of humour evaporating from his eyes. "What plans Lois?" He asked dubiously.

"Plans," Lois insisted standing up from her desk and re-corking the half full bottle of champagne on her desk. "I've been on undercover assignment for the last two months I've got things to do. Bills to pay, cheque book to balance."

"Lois," Jimmy ignored her explanation because he didn't believe it for a second. "Don't be alone tonight…"

"Jimmy," Lois said shortly. "Please don't…" Her eyes implored him to let it rest. She didn't want to deal with where he was going and today was hard enough as it was for the both of them.

"It's been five years Lois, she wouldn't want this." Jimmy declared.

Lois' expression hardened. "We don't know what she would have wanted Jimmy," she nearly hissed, "because she's dead. She's beyond wanting anything anymore."

Without another word, Lois Lane left the newsroom before Jimmy could say anything else.

Some might have considered it dangerous to be out here at this time of the night. Some might have even warned against it however Lois had never been one to pay any attention to good advice. She had driven here straight from Metropolis, surprising herself how easy it was to remember the back roads to take in case a policeman pulled her over for a breathalyser test. Fortunately, once you turned off the main highway, the roads were less travelled and cops were far and few between.

It was just after ten o'clock when she arrived at her destination, still dressed in the suit she had gone to work with this morning. The air smelled the same, heavy with pollen and animal dander. After all these years, she had never forgotten the smell or ceased to miss it any less. Finding a verdant patch of green, Lois Lane sat down, champagne bottle in hand, to stretch out next to the marble headstone that was now grey instead of white after five years of weather and exposure.

"You should have seen me cousin," Lois continued to speak, even after an hour of resting above the damp grass where Chloe Sullivan had been put to rest five years ago. "I was _so_ good. Stagg had no idea what happened until he read it in the Planet this morning. According to Perry, he threatened to sue the paper and claimed that by the time he was done with me, I wouldn't be able to get a job writing obituaries!" She giggled, taking another swig and gulping down before adding. "This was shortly before Perry informed him that every thing written had come from a verified source that had gone through the Planet's lawyers before a word was printed. Man I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that conversation!"

Of course Chloe couldn't hear her.

Lois knew that but it felt good to come out here nevertheless and pretend, even for a little while that Chloe was still listening to her prattle. She knew it disturbed Jimmy, this ritual of visiting a graveyard in the middle of the night to talk to a headstone. She had let go of her cousin a long time ago but that didn't stop Lois from missing her terribly.

"I heard from Bruce last week. Asked me to drop by for lunch the next time I'm in Gotham. Tell you the truth; I'm not too eager to go. If I even mentioned to Perry that I'm interested in going to Gotham, you can bet your ass he's going to ask me to cover the Bat story and we both know that's not going to end well. See what happens when you leave? Your fiancé gets a fetish for flying rodents."

Lois blinked, a wave of emotion sweeping away her composure, like dust in the wind. She had seen Bruce only a handful of times after Chloe had been found. One of those times was right here in this spot when he had come to Smallville for the funeral. Lois remembered looking into his dark eyes and seeing whatever light Chloe had inspired vanish forever. Bruce Wayne had died all over again that day and what was left was the scourge of Gotham's underworld, the Batman. They talked on the phone still and every now and then when he was in town, they had lunch but their conversations were disconnected, like two people struggling to remember why they were still friends.

"God I miss you so much," Lois swallowed another mouthful of alcohol, the pain stabbing at her insides as sharply as the day she was asked to go to the morgue and identify the body. Uncle Gabe had stood next to her during that terrible morning and broken down completely. Lois remembered going on auto-pilot, making the arrangements, ensuring he didn't have to deal with any of it. She had gone through the whole event barely aware, maintaining that rock hard exterior while inside, inside she died a little too.

"It's been so empty since you've been gone. I miss not being able to call you in the middle of the night and tell you all my crap, I miss you correcting all the punctuation in my stories and stealing the fries off my plate because you're on some dumb ass health kick." Her eyes misted over and Lois wiped them dry, containing her sorrow in dismissive sniffle.

A gust of wind blew across the landscape then, a great rush of air that made her freeze for a moment and Lois looked up to the sky, not certain what she was expecting to see but for a moment, hoping against hope that it was….

Nothing. There was nothing there and the expectation almost made her weep fresh tears.

Fortunately, her anguish did not have time to linger for she suddenly heard the clip clop of hooves behind her. Lois threw her head over her shoulder to see a familiar shape approach astride a palomino pony. It was a face she hadn't expected to see, a person who was just as buried in the past as Chloe in the ground before her.

"Lana?" Lois exclaimed with surprise.

Lana Lang dismounted her pony and gaped at Lois with the same shock. She hadn't changed much Lois thought. Still managing to look drop dead gorgeous as ever even though she was wearing a parka, jeans and heavy boots while Lois was the one clad in a four hundred dollar suit.

"Lois?" Lana returned with just as much wonder. "What on Earth you doing out here at this time of night?"

"I might ask you the same question," Lois retorted, suddenly very envious of the parka. Sobering up had the effect of making her feel the cold and she shivered slightly. "I'm visiting," she declared as if it were the most rational thing in the world.

Lana's gaze shifted to the headstone and nodded in understanding. "So was I but I thought I was the only one who made nocturnal visits."

"Well the world's full of surprises," Lois shrugged, facing front again as Lana came up along side of her and sat down. "Drink?" She offered Lana the bottle.

Lana chuckled softly and took the offered libation, "thanks." She took a swig and they stared at the headstone again.

"I miss her too," Lana said softly and for a time, neither spoke again because there were no need for words from two who had lost equally when Chloe Sullivan left their lives.

When Lois woke up, she was aware of two things.

One, she had a hangover.

Two, she was having it on a strange bed.

Sitting up abruptly, Lois noted she was wearing an old Smallville High football jersey and for a moment, the memories it brought up were so unpalatable, she almost tore the thing off her back until she realised that the name stencilled on it was Fordham. For a moment, she had thought it was something else and the emotions that brought up made her sorrow at Chloe's loss seem pale in comparison.

_Don't even go there, Lane. _She told herself. There were some things even Lois Lane was not brave enough to face.

Upon recovering her wits in regards to the jersey, Lois took stock of her surroundings and noted that her clothes were draped neatly over a chair in the corner of a rather cheery looking bedroom. Lights streamed in through light floral curtains that made her wince owing to her inebriation the night before, with a light whiff of lavender scent in the air and a view that was all too familiar.

Main Street, Smallville.

Good God, she was in the Talon! Or rather the apartment above it.

For nearly three years, the apartment had been her home. For a time, she had shared it with Chloe and the memories in this place were happy ones. A wave of nostalgia hit her as she looked around what appeared to be the spare guestroom.

Lois had moved out after Chloe's death when there had been nothing left to hold her to Smallville. This was the first time she'd been back here since then.

Climbing out of bed, she padded over to the door and peered through the open crack. The sounds of morning cartoons filled the room beyond and Lois stepped out, almost cautiously.

"Hey," she called out.

"Hello." A face leaned over from the front of the television set.

The girl was no more than five if that, with long sheeny dark hair, rosy cheeks and almost emerald coloured eyes. She wore a denim pinafore with purple tights and matching sweater and regarded Lois with curiosity as she continued to stare.

"Hi there," Lois greeted with a little smile. "I'm Lois. What you watching?"

"Barney," the little girl responded.

"Barney huh?" Lois nodded, never comfortable around children. She never knew what to say to them. "What's your name?"

"Laura," the waif answered.

And with that answer, Lois knew whom she was talking to. This was Laura, Lana's daughter by Lex Luthor.

It was hard to equate the child with the man who murdered Chloe and for once Lois was grateful for the fact. Like her mother, Laura looked like a porcelain beauty, so terrible fragile and yet so beautiful at the same time. Lois didn't want to look at the girl and see the daughter of a murderer, she wanted to see a child who was innocent of her father's sins. "Its very nice to meet you Laura. You mind if I watch TV with you?"

"Okay," Laura nodded but then said in a soft tone "but you have to be quiet." She said as she went back to the program.

"I'll do my best," Lois smiled and looked around the apartment as the little girl's concentration returned to the dancing saurian on the screen.

When Lois had thought earlier that life hadn't been easy for Lana Lang following Chloe's death, she realised that she had underestimated just how difficult it was. Overnight, Lana was faced with irrefutable proof that her husband and the father of her child had murdered her best friend. She divorced Lex soon after and returned to Smallville with Laura, then barely a year old. In the divorce settlement, Lana had asked for nothing except the Talon to provide her with income so she could raise her child. Only after great cajoling by her lawyer, Lana begrudgingly accepted a trust fund set aside for Laura to be inherited when the child turned twenty-one.

Considering her parentage, Lois could very well understand Lana's desire to keep Laura away from anything remotely resembling the Luthors.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER TWO: LOSSES

"I'm back!" Lana Lang sang out as she opened the door to the apartment a short time later. Ensuring that all was right with the Talon downstairs and that her employees could pick up the slack while she entertained, Lana had left the coffee house to its devices. Stepping insides, she added further, "and I come bearing coffee and doughnuts!"

"Doughnuts!" Laura leapt off the sofa excitedly and ran to her mother, dark hair bouncing behind her as she ran to greet Lana at the door.

Lois emerged from the guest room, having discarded the Smallville High jersey for her own clothes. She spent the remainder of the episode of Barney and Friends preparing for the drive back to Metropolis when Lana finally returned.

Lois had come to the firm conclusion after watching the antics of the anthropomorphic dinosaur for ten minutes that she may have stumbled upon something more insidiously evil than Zod. The rapt attention commanded by the purple dinosaur could only be explained by the fact that the song _'if you're happy and you know it' _was some form of infant mind control.

"Good morning," Lois greeted as she saw Lana returning with coffee and box full of Talon pastries. "Thanks for putting me up last night."

"Don't be silly," Lana said moving her cache to the kitchen table. "It was fun catching up." The raven haired beauty smiled warmly. "Won't you have some breakfast before you go?"

The coffee _did_ smell good and Lois didn't much relish the drive back to Metropolis without it. Besides, Lois couldn't deny it had been nice staying up most of the night talking to Lana. Despite their contrasting personalities, they shared a lot in common, sometimes more than Lois felt comfortable with but last night had been something of a revelation. They shared a kinship in their losses. "Can't say no to Talon coffee can I?" Lois smiled. "I definitely need a caffeine shot after watching _Barney_."

"Yes," Lana laughed sympathizing, having gotten used to repeated viewings of Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid after five years of motherhood. "Trust me, after the fourth or fifth time, your brain goes on auto pilot and doesn't engage until the credit rolls."

"Mommy did you get me a pink one?" Laura asked as she stood at the table, barely able to reach over the top.

"Absolutely," Lana said reaching into the box and fishing out a doughnut with bright pink frosting. "It taste absolutely disgusting," she explained to Lois, "but that's the only bit of sugar she's allowed to have at this time of day. Here you go, sweetie."

"Thank you Mommy" Laura beamed, her smile turning her cheeks red as she took her bounty and returned to the television.

"Pingu the Penguin waits for no man." Lana told Lois dutifully.

"I'll take your word for it," Lois chuckled as the two sat down to coffee at the kitchen table while Laura was sufficiently distracted by the television. The little girl sat on her couch, munching on a pink doughnut, oblivious to anything but the flickering screen before her.

"Lana, she's lovely," Lois complimented with a fond smile.

"Thank you," Lana said swelling with pride. "She's my little Starbuck."

"Starbuck?" Lois raised a brow as she took a sip of her coffee and relished the taste against her tongue. "From Moby Dick?"

"I loved the book," Lana confessed.

"Cute," Lois said approvingly. Laura seemed to be a beautiful, well mannered child. Happy and adjusted. _No signs of Luthor influence there_, Lois thought inwardly. "You've done a wonderful job on your own Lana." She had meant that as a compliment but somehow it escaped her like an inquiry for news and Lois winced at her choice of wording. Hopefully Lana wouldn't take offense.

"Thank you," Lana replied suspecting that Lois probably had questions but was restraining herself out of her respect and perhaps reverence to this growing friendship between them. Aware of what hurdles lay before them if they wanted such a relationship, Lana decided to make it easy on Lois. "I've kept Lex and his father well out of the equation so I'm hoping she'll have a normal upbringing until she reaches 21."

"When she inherits?" The reporter nodded. That part of the divorce had been well documented by the press. Although Lois was no longer a fan of tabloid news, grateful to leave her Inquisitor days behind when she joined the Planet, the divorce of Lex Luthor and Lana Lang had been gossip fodder for months. It was no wonder Lana chose to retreat to Smallville after all that.

"Yes," Lana sighed, not looking forward to that day at all. Money had brought the Luthors nothing but disaster, Lana had no desire for her daughter to suffer that legacy. "I've seen how money corrupts and that much money...? It's going to be hard to resist."

"I take it then that Lionel Luthor hasn't been calling," Lois spoke, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. As Lex's only child and knowing how the Luthors were about family, Lois was rather surprised that Lionel had made no move to take her daughter away from Lana. It was just the kind of thing the Luthor's tended to do.

"No, Lionel hasn't made any contact fortunately," Lana's relief was evident. "However, I wonder if things would have been different if Laura had been a boy instead of a girl. These days however, its not Lionel that I have to worry about," her voice grew soft and trailed away into the dark matter that was her marriage.

Lois's expression hardened almost on reflex. "You mean Lex." Lois stated. It wasn't a question.

Lana glanced at her daughter who was oblivious to the sudden pall in the conversation. Laura Lang was happily engaged in the world of dancing muppets. "Yes," Lana nodded after a moment. "Lex. He still calls every month, he writes letters and sometimes even has them delivered. I've refused to read them, I started sending them back but he still won't give up. I mean the letters, the phone calls; they all say the same thing so I just ignore them now."

"What do they say?" The journalist in her was compelled to ask, even though Lois knew that the answer would never appear in any story she wrote. Chloe had always said often that there were some stories never meant for print. This was one of them.

"Just the usual," Lana shrugged. "He's innocent. He didn't kill Chloe. That he loves me and he wants to see Laura just once." Her eyes filled with pain because Lana didn't want to admit that there were moments when she wanted to believe him. Lois' evidence of his guilt had been bedrock solid and to this day Lana questioned how she could have been so wrong about Lex. She knew he had his faults, she knew he had darkness but she never imagined that he was capable of murdering Chloe. Not for a moment.

Meeting Lois' gaze, she said firmly. "That's _never_ going to happen."

Lois could well believe it. "I'm sorry Lana," her hand reached over the table and squeezed Lana's in support.

Lois might have hated Lex Luthor but Lana had been as much a victim as anyone and Lois didn't have it in her heart to blame her for being tricked as easily as many others before her.

Lana smiled, grateful for the gesture and drew in a deep breath to compose herself. "What about you?" She asked Lois brightly. "What's new with you?"

"Oh the same old," Lois shrugged. "Still the model of the modern career woman, nothing to hold me down. Living the dream you know?" She said with an exaggerated air, wishing the subject had not become the goings on in her life.

"I know," Lana replied said with a smile, "I've read your articles. Every now and then the Smallville Times features one of your articles. Do you know they call you Smallville's very own Lois Lane?"

"Oh God no," Lois laughed. "I like lived here for three years in between getting kicked out of college or a job!"

"Well Smallville doesn't have many role models so we take what we can get," Lana teased. "Besides, it does have a ring to it. Smallville's very own ace reporter."

"Stop it," Lois retorted. "You're having _way_ too much fun with that. Besides, my reputation is kind of exaggerated." She brushed it off even though she knew it really wasn't. Lois had earned every accolade but it was her way to downplay it. Oh she loved the flattery some times but right now, it seemed out of place. "I'm just lucky that it's a job that I love doing. You can't ask much more than that right?"

Lana studied Lois and saw through the façade of the confident, effervescent woman who wanted for nothing. As someone who knew all about masks, Lana had perfected her own over the years and that gave her some expertise at seeing through others. Beneath the crusty exterior of the hardened newswoman, Lana saw an ingrained sadness that peeked through the cracks of Lois' mantle when she thought no one was looking.

The day Chloe died, they had both lost but for the first time Lana realized that she was the lucky one. Lana's marriage had disintegrated but the part she got to keep was the best of it. She got to keep Laura and that was worth any price. Lois unfortunately, did not have that comfort.

The day she lost her cousin, Lois had also lost Clark Kent.

"I guess not," Lana agreed and broached a subject as sensitive to Lois as the mention of Lex. "You haven't heard from Clark?"

For a moment, the walls came down and Lana saw the evidence of so much sorrow that she almost felt sorry she asked the question. In her own way, Lana Lang loved Clark Kent too but too much had happened between them by the time she and Lex walked down the aisle for their relationship to ever remain the same. However for Lois whose love for Clark was a living thing that could only grow, it had been nothing short of devastating when he disappeared.

Lois composed herself with practiced expertise. She blinked once and crushed the emotions inside her ruthlessly, extinguishing the glimmer of personal agony with such completion that Lana had to wonder if she had truly seen it or had she just imagined what she saw.

"No," Lois said almost coldly. "I haven't seen him since the day we found Chloe."

"Oh…" Lana nodded. "I thought maybe…" she stopped herself from going any further.

"You thought maybe he'd come to his senses and come home?" Lana almost spat out the words. "I stopped wondering that a long time ago. He blamed himself for what happened to Chloe," Lois declared, unable to stop the rant once it had started.

She recalled all too well Clark's state after she had identified the body. He had been searching everywhere for Chloe, clinging to the hope that she was still alive somewhere. Even when Lois had started to fear the worst, Clark had hung on, adamantly refusing to believe. And then when there was no more hope and the truth in it all its tragedy was revealed, he had blamed himself for not stopping it.

No matter how much Lois tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault, Clark was inconsolable. He blamed himself for not being able to utilize all his powers, for letting distractions stop him from training with Jor-El, a plethora of reasons borne out of grief. Lois assumed it would pass. Unfortunately, Clark didn't stick around long enough for either of them to find out.

The next day, he was gone.

By then, Mrs. Kent had moved to Washington to play a more central role in her political career as US Senator. When Lois told her about Clark's disappearance, she was naturally concerned but _unsurprised_. Martha Kent had always known the day would come when Clark would leave for good.

_"He needs to go Lois; he needs to continue his journey." Martha had said. _

Funny, how neither Clark nor his mother seemed to think that Lois rate a say in the matter.

She had tried to find him, going so far as to enter the cave but without Clark, it was just a collection or rocky passages. Whatever power it contained, lay dormant because she did not have the Kryptonian gene to activate it. Absurdly, she thought of searching the Alaskan tundra but she wasn't even sure if that's where the Fortress was. So Lois had no choice but to wait and continue waiting until it became clear after six months he wasn't coming back and she had to move on.

"He blamed himself, wigged out and left." Lois stated firmly compressing a gamut of emotion and sorrow into that short, abrupt summary. "I don't care if he _ever _comes back."

She almost convinced herself when she said it.

***************

Wind lashed at him from the great height above the rest of Metropolis.

He occupied the top floor in its entirety, using it not only as his offices but as his permanent residence. He saw no reason to keep a home elsewhere. He didn't require the space. There were no railings on his balcony even though prudence demanded that some safety apparatus be put in place but it was a good way to test the mettle of those who worked for him. It was also a good way form them to prove themselves to him.

Standing on the marble pave, a few feet away from a rockery and pond, complete with Golden Carp, he took in the sight of the city and wondered if all cities were like this one. Pulsing with orchestrated chaos. All those tiny specks of life, scurrying about insignificantly about their business, fractals that kept revealing the same patterns no matter how much one kept taking them apart. He watched Metropolis the same way Mandlebrot conceived of his fractal equations, as means of explaining the unexplainable.

Human behavior could never be accurately measured and so he was trapped here, waiting. For five years, he had set events in motion, expecting a conclusion that should have given him what he wanted. Except it didn't transpire the way it anticipated and the result found him trapped in a loop he could not escape. Forced to wait because there was no other alternative, he watched the skies, kept his close to the ground and listened for anything.

A few months ago in Africa, he thought there might have been a sighting but by the time he arrived, there was no evidence or proof that what he had been searching for had ever been there. Disappointment was an emotion he was not accustomed to and yet for five years, he was forced to face it daily.

"Where are you," he spoke into the empty space surrounding. "Where are you Kal-El?"

Behind him, he heard a door slide open and did not have to turn around to know that the tall, statuesque blond who had been his assistant for the last five years had stepped onto the roof. Blue eyed and a physically perfect specimen of the female gender; she walked fearless across the floor in her expensive suit without batting a lash in reaction to the surroundings.

"Mr. Luthor," she announced herself.

"Miss Graves," he returned, still facing the skyline of Metropolis. "What brings you here this fine morning?"

"Mr. Luthor, your son has telephoned again," she spoke with a voice that was low and husky.

He let out a visible sigh. "One would think he'd give up by now. Perhaps we should stipulate that in exchange for continued legal counsel and a small allowance from Luthor Corp, he should desist in these pointless attempts at contact. I have no desire to speak to a murderer."

His lips curled into a small smile at that.

"It could be arranged," Miss Graves replied, showing no reaction to the statement. She was accustomed to witnessing Mr. Luthor's disdain towards his son. This demand was only the latest in a long line of refusals and slights since the younger Luthor's arrest and conviction. "Considering he relies heavily on his allowance to bribe the guards for privileges and his fellow inmates for protection, I believe that he would have little choice but to comply with that request if demanded of him.

"Perhaps not," he recanted after a moment's thought. "Lex is always most dangerous when one thinks he's utterly no threat. For now, its best to keep him an eye on him. Was there any particular reason he contacted me this time or is it just another attempt to rekindle our damaged relationship." His voice dripped with sarcasm and amusement all at once.

"He _does_ make a request," Miss Graves offered, astute enough to know that such things should only be brought to his employer if he deemed it important enough to ask. She learned quickly early on that he was almost two steps ahead of everyone else.

"Well let's hear it," he retorted, expecting it to be another entreaty to use his influence to secure an early release. As if there was any amount of power that could erase such a public, murder conviction. Desperation makes fools of us all, he thought.

"Your son requests that you ask Ms Lang to let him see his daughter," Miss Graves said slowly, uncertain how Lionel felt about the little girl in Smallville with Luthor blood. "He wants a relationship with his daughter but Miss Lang is adamant about keeping the child away from him."

"Miss Lang is adamant about keeping her daughter away from anything Luthor," he said with a bemused chuckle. "So Lex wants to be a father. It would almost be precious if it wasn't so tragic."

Miss Graves said nothing, waiting for an answer because he would give one when he was good and ready. It was another thing she had learned after years in his employ. Mr. Luthor never did anything until he was ready and not a minute before. He stood there at the edge of the roof, so dangerously close to falling off a seventy five story building. It was not as tall as Sears in Chicago but it towered over every other building in Metropolis.

"I'll pay Miss Lang a call," he answered after a lengthy pause. "Perhaps its time I took a look at my grandchild."

"Yes Mr. Luthor," Miss Graves answered. "Should I arrange it?"

"No," he replied automatically. "I'll attend to this myself Mercy but thank you for the offer."

"Of course Mr. Luthor," Mercy Graves nodded. "Will there be anything else?"

"Not for now, you're excused." He bade her to leave him.

Without another word, the blond departed through the balcony doors, leaving Lionel Luthor alone with his thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three: A God Among Men**

These days on the Internet, it wasn't hard to find anything.

He read her articles, each one. Starting from the first at the Daily Planet to all the others that subsequently bore her name. The Lois Lane writing those stories had earned the right to be called Metropolis best investigative journalist. From mob infiltration, to cracking bribery scandals in Washington, to union rackets and corporate cover-ups. There didn't seem to be any territory that was sacred to the woman, she was willing to go the distance to get her story.

Of course, with such determination there was always the possibility of danger and while not as widely covered, the information was there too. Several attempts on her life, two gunshot wounds and one near fatal assault. The danger did not seem to deter her and if anything made her more determined than ever. As star reporters went, Lois Lane was becoming a minor celebrity in her own right. Life Magazine called her the 21st century's Margaret Bourke White.

Of course, the articles were infuriatingly silent about her personal life.

The source he could draw from was surprisingly closed mouth on the subject, even reproachful to a degree so he had nothing to go on. Of course, the most obvious course of action was the one thing he didn't have nerve to do just yet From what there was to go on, Lois Lane didn't date. There were mutterings of visits to Gotham, the possibility of a relationship with billionaire Bruce Wayne but he knew better than anyone, what the truth of that was.

He knew where she lived, a top floor apartment in a generally decent neighbourhood of Metropolis. A short drive away from the Daily Planet. She had to live close by or she'd never get there in time, he thought as he studied the place from a far. She didn't have many friends but that too didn't surprise him. She wasn't an easy person to get to know and often, she wouldn't let you in until she was good and ready.

The other night, he followed her and saw where she had gone.

He watched in silence, feeling a thousand emotions surging through him, affecting him deeply at what she had done in Smallville that night. The most prevalent of this of course was guilt and after she had gone, with Lana Lang no less, he had stood on the place she had sat talking to Chloe Sullivan. Seeing for the first time, the headstone where Smallville High's prom queen was buried. He didn't know how long he stood there but he knew he should have done this a long time ago. Things had been left unsaid.

Things Clark Kent should have done before he decided to walk away from his life and break Lois Lane's heart.

************

Lois ended up spending most of the morning with Lana until it was time take Laura to go to her playgroup, at which point, Lois decided it was time to head back to Metropolis. Even though she had not seen Lana Lang in almost five years, catching up had been fun and it wasn't long before it felt like old times, when she, Chloe and Lana had been something of a set. Chloe's absence was still telling but the void she left in both their lives was somewhat filled by the kinship they shared at her loss.

Returning to Metropolis, Lois made plans to visit again soon and found to her surprise that it was a promise she intended keeping. Furthermore, it wasn't as hard to visit Smallville as she thought. Oh she had been making her nightly forays to the cemetery for years but the benefit of visiting the place at night was the unlikelihood of interacting with anyone from the town and she was usually on her way to Metropolis soon after.

It took every ounce of will power to not drive to the Kent farm but to keep going. Lois had kept contact with Martha Kent of course. Her regard for the woman was too much to ever sever that relationship but Clark was a subject that Martha knew wisely not to discuss. Lois' job ensured that she was in Washington frequently enough to visit Martha who had become one of Washington's most respected legislators and whenever the Senator was in town, she usually stayed with Lois.

Returning to Metropolis, Lois returned to her apartment long enough to grab a shower, a change of clothing before she returned to the Daily Planet offices again.

As she entered the newsroom, she was glad to be back in the office, where she could once again play at being hardened newswoman. That façade was easier to wear than the woman mourning the loss of her cousin and still hurting from the anguish of being discarded by the man she loved as he pursued destiny's choices. The newsroom as always was busy and the kinetic energy it generated as she heard the clicking of keyboards, the droning of printers and the cacophony of voices, taking phone calls, discussing ideas at the water cooler and general conversation, gave her a similar boost of spirit.

Jimmy Olsen was checking out one of the lenses on his camera when he saw Lois wander into the crosshairs and immediately lowered the device to the table. He was glad to see her in the office, having worried more "Hey Lois, did you hear?"

"What? Paris got caught with another DUI again? Brittany didn't just forget her underwear but an entire outfit and no one noticed?" Lois asked as she slid into her chair.

"Uh...no." Jimmy was caught off guard by the mental imagery and had to shake it off before he could return to his original thought. "It's Collison. The curator of the British Museum. He's vanished."

"Vanished?" Lois exclaimed with surprise as she eased back into her chair, shaking her head with disbelief. "So much for Scotland Yard being on top of things. They'll be lucky if they ever see him again. First chance that guy gets, he's going to go empty out that Cayman account and disappear for a life of bimbos and Mai Tais."

"You think he can still get access to that money?" Jimmy asked, perching himself on the corner of her desk.

"Guys like him would have shifted the bulk of that account elsewhere by now," Lois replied. "He's long gone."

"I guess," Jimmy sighed. "Without him though, Scotland Yard can't make a case against Simon Stagg."

"Not my problem Jimmy," Lois replied with a shrug. "I covered the story and gave Interpol the evidence they needed to begin an investigation. If they dropped the ball, that's their bad, not mine."

"True," Jimmy nodded. "Oh and I think Perry wanted to see you."

"Oh?" Lois reared her head up to see Perry's door locked, indicating that the man was with somebody. "Looks like he's busy."

"According to Cat, he's interviewing someone to fill Bevins' job." Jimmy replied, "I didn't see the guy."

Henry Bevins had retired a month ago to Boca, Florida to open a bait shop with his wife Enid. The man had been a thirty five year veteran who had been at the Planet when people still used typewriters. He was a good guy who probably deserved more than an ice cream cake and a gold watch for his send off but Henry had been eyeing Bermuda shorts and loud shirts for six months now, so he didn't mind the goofy send off.

"Henry will be hard to replace," Lois retorted as her cell phone beeped, indicating an incoming text message. Reaching into her bag, she retrieved the metallic green phone and read the message on the display screen.

_Meet me on the roof right now if you want to know about Intergang. _

Intergang was Lois Lane's Holy Grail.

For almost three years, she had been trying to uncover existence of the organisation whose mention was only in bare whispers with no one daring to commit anything to record. No wonder because most of the people who had talked with her in the beginning soon ended up dead. Nevertheless, despite having difficulty in proving their existence, Lois knew that Intergang existed and was most likely the source of nearly all illegal weapons running into Metropolis, ranging from ex-military hardware to prototypes whose origins God only knew.

The organization's determination to maintain its anonymity especially after the first few bodies surfaced made it impossible for Lois to find new leads. Still she had been quietly gathering evidence over the years and was fast becoming the authority on the subject. Over the years, Lois' coverage had resulted in death threats but none which she took seriously. Killing her would be proving Intergang's existence in a way and as anonymity was their agenda, she did not believe they would tip their hand in such a fashion.

"Gotta go," Lois said suddenly, jumping out of her chair, taking her phone with her.

"What?" Jimmy asked, knowing the look all too well but Lois was already out of her chair and heading towards the elevator. "Lois!"

"Later Jimmy," she sang out with a wave and disappeared through the closing doors of the elevator.

Like he had any chance of stopping Hurricane Lois, Jimmy sighed as he turned around and started towards his desk when suddenly, he was approached by Marcy, Perry's middle-aged blond secretary.

"Was that Lois?" Marcy inquired.

"Yeah," Jimmy nodded. "She should be back in a minute, something up?"

"Yes," Marcy nodded, "we received this message from Interpol. Apparently, Collison was sighted at a private airstrip this morning outside Metropolis."

"Oh hell!" Jimmy exclaimed because there was no reason for Collison to be in United States. Simon Stagg had fled the jurisdiction so he would not have to answer any questions from law enforcement authorities. Lois was right, if Collison was smart, he would have disappeared into the woodwork with the money that Stagg had paid him upfront for the hijacking. There could be only one reason why Collison was in the country and that was revenge.

Not bothering with the niceties, Jimmy hurried to Perry's office with the news, barging into the man's inner sanctum not to mention private interview because he knew that when it came to the life of reporters, Perry wasn't one for protocol.

"Olsen, what the hell are you doing?" Perry demanded, rising from his desk, his cigar between his teeth, looking meaner than spit at the interruption.

"I'm sorry Chief," Jimmy spoke without wasting any time. "We need to get Lois protection. Steven Collison was sighted in Metropolis this morning. He's after her I'm sure of it!"

"What!" Perry exclaimed, his cigar falling from his mouth. "Is she in yet?"

"She was in," Jimmy replied quickly, "but now she's gone again. She got a text message and ran out of here."

"Where?" A new voice inquired.

Jimmy turned for the first time to the third person in the room, a person he had ignored in his determination to tell Perry what had happened. Eyes widening in shock, Jimmy's jaw open as he stared blankly.

"Woah…"

************

Lois stepped onto the roof of the Daily Planet building and was immediately lashed by the winds from thirty stories up. Above her, the Daily Planet's Globe continued its endless rotation, a symbolic gesture to imitate the Earth's own revolutions. She went to the railing and took a moment to appreciate the view of Metropolis, the breathtaking urban sprawl that seemed to stretch across the landscape as far as the eye could see. Lois did so love this city and even though she was up here on a serious matter, Lois couldn't help but soak in the atmosphere.

"Lois Lane," a voice said behind her, cold and menacing.

Lois turned around and felt her blood run cold. Jesus. "Collison," she gasped in shock, recognising him immediately from the pictures of him she had seen when she was gathering notes for her story on the hijacking.

Stephen Collison was in his fifties, a man with greying hair, horn rimmed glasses and a bald patch. With a face that could blend into the background easily, he wore a tan trench coat over a brown suit, one hand clutching a cell phone, the other a .45 handgun. Lois had been around enough guns to tell the difference. His expression of blank calm unnerved Lois more than the gun in his hand. It was the expression of a man with nothing to lose.

"At least you know what I look like," he hissed. "At least you know who you destroyed with that filthy article!"

"I was just writing a story," Lois answered trying to remain calm, trying to think her way out of her situation. Thinking furiously.

"A STORY!" He growled. "That was my life! I had no choice but to take the money! Stagg said he would kill my family if I didn't cooperate! What was I supposed to do?"

"Calling the police would have been a start," she continued to talk, "they apparently handle that kind of thing all the time."

"Shut up you bloody bitch!" He growled "You don't know what you've done. I've lost everything!"

"Mr. Collison," Lois tried to keep control of her own fear, "if that's the truth, then we can talk about it. I know what Simon Stagg is like, I have evidence to prove that he has used coercion tactics before. If you tell them that he threatened your family, I can offer some evidence to back up the facts. If you're an innocent in all this, then I want to help."

Collison however, was beyond such reasoning. "It's too late! My wife has left me! She's taken our children with her! This is all your fault!"

Jesus, he was completely unhinged, Lois realised and came to the conclusion if she didn't do something, he was going to kill her. Still holding her cell phone in her hand, Lois was struck with a quick bout of inspiration, driven mostly by fear and desperation. Flexing her finger ever so carefully, she pushed the call button on her cell phone.

Collison's own cell phone started beeping a shrill sound that tore the noise , forcing the man to look away from her in reaction. Lois sprung into action, making a dash for the door when Collison saw her run and pulled the trigger. The 45 sounded like a canon and Lois retreated to avoid the bullet but the tactic caused her to loose her footing and she toppled backwards, over the railing. There was a moment of clarity when she realised what had happened, that she had missed the bullet but was going to die anyway because she was falling.

Screaming hysterically as she plunged from thirty floors up, Lois screams caught the attention of everyone in the street below who looked up to see a woman falling through the air. Screams of horror and shock rippled through the crowds as they watched the scene unfold, helpless to do anything about it.

************

Jimmy and two security guards arrived on the roof as they heard the gunshot go off with the Planet's photographer feeling his heart stop at the thought of finding Lois dead at the end of a bullet. However, appearing on the roof, he saw nothing except Collison, leaning over the rail watching his handiwork. He turned around at their arrival and raised his gun to fire but the security guards, named Carl and Lennie, were more than capable of disarming a fifty something museum curator of a gun that had too much fire power for him to handle in the first place.

"LOIS!" Jimmy shouted when he looked over the railing and saw Lois making her descent.

************

Someone was calling her name but Lois was in little position to answer. She was going to die. Of all the many times, she had been in this situation before, one would think she'd have figured out a graceful way to go out other than screaming madly but oddly enough nothing came to mind. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the end, fingers clawing at air because the body's inclination to survive even in such odds was great.

If Lois had been in any mind to notice, she would have seen then that the crowds below had fallen silent. Something else had captured their attention, something even more earth shattering than a woman falling off a building.

And that was the man flying through the air to catch her.

************

"What the hell is that!" Jimmy exclaimed from the top of the roof, the horrific expression becoming one of astonishment as something red and blue was moving up the length of the building, fast. It was approaching Lois so fast that Jimmy had trouble keeping up with the speed of it.

Camera still around his neck from earlier, Jimmy Olsen lifted it to his face and began clicking away at what was going to be the shot of the century.

************

Unaware of anything that was going on, Lois opened her eyes just in time to see a billowing red cloak swooping around her shoulders, enveloping her in a comforting embrace at the same time a pair of hands caught her under both arms and pulled her close. Her screams caught in her throat, choking off any sound as the hands shifted position, one around her waist, another over her back in that oh so familiar way she had longed. Lois almost dared not look up but when she did, she was looking into the blue eyes she had longed for every day for the last five years.

"Oh God…Clark." She was barely able to speak. "Is it really you or is this a last minute hallucination before I get splattered across the side walk?"

"It's me, Lois. It's really me."

They flew up the length of the Planet building until the globe was beneath their feet. Lois looked down and saw Jimmy snapping away. Oh God, those pictures were going to be on every newspaper in the city in a few hours. She looked down and saw people gaping and pointing in astonishment.

"You have to put me down," she spoke. "Please." Her voice was almost begging.

Still holding her eyes, he flew towards the Planet again and Lois had more time to pay attention to him. He was the same and yet he wasn't. There was Clark Kent who shattered her heart into a thousand pieces but there was someone else as well. Someone strong, confident, who showed no doubt in his eyes, that no longer bore any conflict. There was a serenity about him, a sense of peace or equilibrium even.

They descended on the roof of the Planet, on the other side of the globe, away from Jimmy. Lois was breathing hard, trying to catch her breath. She noticed he was wearing some kind of costume and thought immediately of Bruce, but this was different. Bruce's costume was dark like his mission, like Gotham. Clark's uniform comprised of the 'S' shield, symbolic of the House of El, she thought unconsciously. The red and the blue, the billowing cape, like he was something out of this world.

Like a god among men.

"You saved my life," she said as he looked down at her. Had he grown taller? Lois didn't remember him being this tall. "Thank you."

"I promised you I'd never let you fall…" he started to say.

"DON'T." She reacted sharply. "_Don't …you…dare._ You don't get to talk to me that way. Not after what you _did_."

And with that, she spun on her heels and left him there on the roof. Not looking back when she heard the swoosh of air behind her when he left.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FOUR: CONFESSIONS OF A FLYING MAN**

_"Did you see it?"_

"He flew right up there and caught her!"

"It's a hoax!"

"Was there a Spielberg movie filming?"

"Where's Johnny Knoxville??"

Lois Lane left the Daily Planet building surrounded by exclamations as she stepped onto the sidewalk overlooking the streets where apparently hundreds had gathered and were talking excitedly amongst themselves at what they had seen. The atmosphere was charged and if Lois had not been so bereft of energy, she might have paid attention or seen that there was a story in it. As it was, other media teams were quick to chart the territory she was forsaking as new crews began to appear, to till the fodder of bystander observations on the street. In front of the Daily Planet building, television news vans appeared, their rival networks, police cars and even an ambulance. The scene was nothing less than chaos and although she had been in the centre of this maelstrom, Lois had the fortune of being high enough in the air at the time of her rescue to be kept from being recognized by the public. For the moment at least.

Hailing the first cab she saw, Lois ordered the driver to take her home, wishing nothing more than to escape the events that were becoming full blown media frenzy. Even on the journey home, normal programming on the radio was interrupted by news bulletins breaking the story that a man had been seen flying through the air above the Daily Planet building following the spectacular rescue of investigative journalist Lois Lane. Someone was going to call this a hoax and that would be the end of it, Lois told herself on the ride home as the cab driver, unaware of who he had in the backseat, proceeded to tell her his opinion of the whole thing. It apparently involved a stunt to get on Springer. However, that one bulletin wasn't the end of it.

When Lois got home, she looked at the television set she had left on and saw there was other footage as well. Someone had actually caught the scene of her rescue on their cell phone and the digital image was being played out in all its glory, from Lois plunging through the air, to Clark soaring through in order to catch her. Lois watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as one of the most terrifying experiences of her life, not to mention the most emotional, was being played out for all to see.

The costume he wore added to the drama. The sweeping cloak, the colours so reminiscent of the flag, made it all the more fantastic. Then other reports started flowing in. There was footage of Clark stopping a bank robbery where he apparently stepped into a hail of gunfire between police and criminals to halt the violence. There was Clark rescuing trapped occupants from an apartment fire. In a matter of hours, there were dozens of sightings that made it more difficult to believe that he was a hoax.

Her cell phone continued to buzz with almost all of the calls coming from either Jimmy or Perry. She saw the messages appear on the display screen and couldn't bring herself to answer them. Jimmy was demanding to know if she was alright and Perry wanted to know why his best reporter wasn't out there covering the story of the century. After all, she was the first person he rescued? After awhile she let the battery exhaust itself and didn't bother recharging it. Lois unplugged her land line phone for good measure as well.

Retreating into her bedroom, she slipped under the covers of her bed and tried to shut the world out while she wept.

He watched the images on the screen with bemusement.

The entire city was in an uproar over the appearance of the man in the red cape, who apparently was making it his business to help anyone in need. He was not at all surprised to see the first recipient of Kal-El's help to be Lois Lane. He should have known that if anyone could draw out Kal-El from hiding it would be intrepid Miss Lane. He would have to resume the surveillance on her now that there was irrefutable proof that Krypton's last son had finally come home.

Watching Kal-El flying through the air, heedless of who saw him or his powers, it was clear that the young man was no longer the frightened and uncertain boy he had been. The potential his father had seen had come to fruition. He was every bit as powerful as Jor-El believed he would be. The training had served Kal-El well he decided. He should have expected that this would be the outcome of the boy's return. His disappearance could have no other reason.

Mercy Graves entered Lionel Luthor's office and found her employer watching the plasma screen with interest. Like almost every person on the planet today, he too was watching the news footage of the mysterious caped wonder who was abilities, beyond the like of any previously recorded member of the meteor generation. The NAACP was calling the man a positive role model for other people with abilities to show their community worth while Jerry Falwell claimed this was evidence that the world was coming to and end.

"Mr. Luthor, you sent for me?"

"Yes," he said nodding, tearing his gaze away from the screen to rest on her face briefly. "Quite engaging isn't it?" He remarked at the image of Kal-El sweeping Miss Lane from certain death to the rescue of the rescue of the century.

"It is interesting," Mercy couldn't deny being somewhat mesmerized like the rest of the viewing gallery. "He certainly exhibits more ability that most of the Meteor Generation."

"He isn't one of those," the man said pointedly.

Mercy had learned long ago not to doubt her employer when he made such statements. For starters, it was an appalling waste of time for him to explain to her why he was right and it only served to make her look foolish in the face of his intelligence. Thus, if he said a thing to be true, she believed him until experience proved otherwise, which almost never happened.

"What is he then?" Mercy inquired, once again, practised enough to know that she may not receive an answer. Mr. Luthor liked to keep things close to the breast, it was one of the reasons he was such a successful businessman.

"Something entirely out of this world," he replied.

Not much of an answer but then Mr. Luthor was also thrived in being enigmatic. This too Mercy had become accustomed to. Unable to comment any more following that statement, she stepped back and returned the subject to the reason she had been called here. Which was not for the purpose of discussing the latest news, she was certain.

"You required me Mr. Luthor?"

"Yes," he answered, his gaze returning to the screen. "I want you to arrange a visit to the facility where they are keeping Lex. I require an audience with my son. "

Mercy raised a brow in surprise. This was certainly unexpected considering it was only earlier this morning that Luthor had declared his lack of desire to be in the same room with his incarcerated son. What had changed, she wondered. "I take it you require privacy?"  
"Absolute privacy," he nodded. "I want a face to face meeting with my son. No guards in attendance or cameras to present. Pay Warden Loeb whatever is necessary to make it happen. If he gives you trouble, simply ask him if his trips to Bangkok are tax deductible." He offered a slight smile. "I'm sure he'll get the message."

"Of course Mr. Luthor," Mercy replied certain that he would at that.

It was night time when Lois finally ventured out of her bedroom, having changed out of her work clothes into a nightgown and deciding to risk allowing the world back into her apartment again. She switched on the news in the darkened living room and saw that the Flying Man watch had not abated. The news channels were filled of sightings and it seemed that Clark was no longer taking any pains to hide himself from the world. In his costume, he was something beyond a man and no one was able to see him as ordinary. Talk shows were discussing the phenomena; news bulletins were constantly interrupting programming to let audiences know the latest on the coverage.

"Flying man, what idiot came up with that?" She snorted as she opened the balcony of her apartment and stepped out, needing fresh air.

Lois stood at the edge of the balcony, staring into the stars above. How many times had she done this in five years, looking up, wondering where he was? Praying that he was alright even when she was at her angriest at him. Five years of never being able to look at another man without holding them up to an impossible standard. Her love for Clark Kent had been a passion she still did not understand and when he was gone, she hated him for making her feel it because the loss was like a knife through her heart.

Five years, she had done everything conceivable to build granite walls around the raw wound he left bleeding inside her. Buried in her work, she had managed quite effectively to get used to the idea that he wasn't coming back and though it still hurt to think about him, Lois thought she was doing okay. She knew she existed in something of a vacuum, that she had a natural tendency to withdraw from any relationship that might engender the same feelings again but Lois was fine with that. It was better this way.

Until she fell and he caught her all over again and by presence along began fracturing those carefully constructed walls the minute she looked into his eyes.

Her nightdress billowed around her ankles and without even needing to look up, Lois knew immediately that Clark had come. Turning her head slightly, she saw him descending to the ground, red boots touching down on the terracotta pave.

"I see you took a page from Bruce's book," Lois replied calmly, determined to maintain her poise and her usual spirit. She wasn't a broken figurine. She was Lois Lane, ace reporter and damn him if he thought that coming back here, seeking her forgiveness was ever going to make things right between them. "The cape is a nice touch. It looks good."

"Its useful," he swallowed, glancing at the fabric draped around his broad shoulders. "People remember the costume more than the face."

"You got that right," she turned around to face him, folding her arms over each other as she looked straight at him, chin up. Defiant.

Clark only had to look at her with defiance stance to fall in love with her all over again.

"Lois," he took a step forward and noted that she held her ground. He wasn't surprised. She never backed down, not from anything or anyone. Him most of all. "I'm sorry."

Her jaw dropped, "you're sorry. Well that's very nice of you to say. Please go now."

"I'll go Lois if you want me to but not before you hear me out," Clark replied meeting her gaze and knew that despite her bravado and bluster, her pain was screaming out to him like banshee wails in the night. "If nothing else, I owe you an explanation."

"This should be good," she retorted, her voice barely a whisper. "Okay, let's hear it. You got lost on the way home and couldn't find the yellow brick road for _five _years?"

He fell silent, breathing in his resignation and then continuing. "When Chloe died, I knew it was my fault. For seven years, Jor-El told me I had to embrace my destiny. I didn't listen. I was so terrified of losing who I was I never considered I was losing who I might become. I spent six of those years running from who I am, trying to be something to Lana I never could and in all that time, I never thought that I had a responsibility to become that person."

"I…never…" Lois said barely holding it together. "Stopped you from embracing your destiny Clark. If you had to go, I would have understood. Don't you think that I loved you enough to know that I had to let you go for you to be the man you needed to be? I get it Clark. I got it then and I get it now." Tears were coming down her cheeks and when he stepped forward, Lois pulled back, a hard stare holding him where he was, commanding him to come no further.

"All you had to do was tell me that you needed to go," Lois continued, her eyes bearing into him like sharp points of a knife. "I loved you Clark, I loved you more than I have ever loved anything and I would have waited for you. _If_ you had just asked. Can you even begin to conceive what it was like when you left? My cousin, my best friend in the world was dead. Somebody murdered her. Uncle Gabe was completely out of it, Lucy was a mess, Jimmy wasn't much better. The only person I had to lean on was you Clark. YOU! And you ran out on me!"

"I know," he whispered, the anguish and guilt showing on his face. "I can't apologise enough for that Lois, I can't. When I found out why she died, I couldn't think straight. I was so crazy with guilt I didn't realise what I was doing until it was too late to turn back."

"What are you talking about?" Lois stared at him. "How could Lex killing her be your fault? What possible training did you think you could possess that would keep that son of a bitch from stabbing her in the heart?"

He hadn't intended to tell her so soon but there was no choice now. She needed to know, she needed to understand.

"Lex didn't kill her."

"WHAT?" Lois stared at him in stupefied shock.

"Lex did _not_ kill Chloe." Clark repeated himself.

"You're wrong," she exclaimed refusing to entertain the possibility that it could be true, "he killed her. I have digital footage of the murder. I got a copy of the surveillance records from the Luthor mansion. He abducted Chloe and had her brought to the mansion when Lana was visiting Nell in Connecticut. He stabbed her."

"Lois he didn't kill her," Clark reached into the folds of his cloak and held out something in his palm.

For the moment, her rage at what he had done subsided as curiosity and the possibility that she had been accomplice to a man serving the last five years in jail, forced her forward. Lois closed the distance and looked into his outstretched palm. In it was a tiny shard of black. It looked almost like glass. The piece was barely a fragment.

"What is this?" She asked. Her voice hushed. She almost didn't want to know.

"It's a piece of the black ship from Krypton," Clark explained. "It was lodged in the bone near Chloe's stab wound. I found this when I went to see her body, before you and Chloe's dad went to identify her."

"This is impossible," Lois stood back, her face ashen as understanding began to shed its awful light upon her. "How could a piece of the ship…."

"It was Brainiac, Lois." he answered shortly. "Brainiac killed Chloe."

"How? He was destroyed to energize the disk that Zod tried to use to remake the Earth into Krypton!" Lois gasped. "You took the disk back to the fortress when it was over." She hurled it at him almost like an accusation.

For Kal-El of Krypton, it might as well have been for his actions.

"I took the disk back but I didn't destroy it. I didn't think it was necessary. I figured with Zod gone, the threat was over. I didn't realise that because Zod never had a chance to use the disk entirely all of Brainiac was _still_ intact. He must have waited until I left to escape because after Chloe's death when I went to the fortress, I found the disk was gone."

How could he explain to her his grief that day? The madness that ate at him when he realised what he had done. These were things a true Kryptonian would have known, someone who had embraced his destiny instead of running from it. He had been remiss and the result was his worse fear, letting those who were closest to him pay the price. When Chloe died, Clark knew he couldn't risk anyone else, not until he could properly protect them.

He had begged Jor-El to take him, not considering the full ramifications of that demand until it was too late, until he had set himself on a course that did not stop for five years. A vortex of information flowed into his brain, bombarding him with all kinds of information. He could quote Kryptonian scripture. He knew the strengths of his people, their great capacity for intellect, hindered by their equally great capacity for arrogance. A trait which would ultimately destroy them.

It would have been so easy for Clark Kent to vanish in that tide of data but he had held on to his identity, to Smallville and the people he loved because of her, clinging to what it was to be with her. What seemed like months for Clark Kent, had turned out to be five years for the rest of the world and only then Clark understand the full measure of his sins.

But it was too late, the world had moved on without him and so had Lois.

"Oh Jesus," Lois turned away, unable to breathe. If she had thought this day could get any worse, she was wrong. She drifted to the balcony. "Lex…Lex didn't do it."

Clark shook his head, appreciating her horror all too well. He wanted to hold Lois but suspected she would not be receptive so he held back and let her deal while continuing to offer her wisdom. "No. He was telling the truth when he said he was on his way back from a business meeting in Metropolis…"

"But his driver _wouldn't_ corroborate the story," Lois blurted out, desperate to know that she hadn't made a mistake, that through her actions, Lex Luthor had been separated from his wife and child for a crime he did not commit.

"The driver was probably dead Lois," he explained, quashing that hope without mercy. "The Construct was able to mimic Oliver to get to me once. It wouldn't be that hard to impersonate Lex's driver to ensure that Lex had no alibi."

"So he's out there," Lois swept her gaze over the city. "Somewhere."

"Yes," Clark nodded. "When Chloe died, I knew that if I had just followed my father's training, I would have known what to do with Brainiac, I would have seen the danger he still posed. I didn't and because of me Chloe is dead and Lex is an innocent man sitting in jail."

"He was never _that_ innocent Clark," Lois sighed but her comment was to hide the self loathing she felt right now, the trap she had sprung on Lex with no knowledge of his crime.

"No, but he didn't do this and he shouldn't be sitting in jail for something he didn't do." Clark stated firmly. "Lois I need your help. I can't do this alone."

She shot him a look. "I think you've run out of favours where I'm concerned Clark," she replied, not wanting to listen any more. Being around him was hard, knowing what she did was even worse.

"Lois, _please, _" Clark implored. "I have no right to ask anything, I _know_ that but we can't leave him in jail. Everything I've read about Lois Lane the reporter tells me she's someone who stands for something. I don't think you've changed so much that you'd let him suffer for something he didn't do."

Lois whirled around and glared, "you don't know anything about me anymore." She almost spat.

Clark dropped his gaze, hurt by the rebuke but once again, unable to deny that it was undeserved. "Maybe not," he said quietly, "but I still need your help."

Closing her eyes as she came to a decision, knowing that it was a decision she had to make even if she hated herself for it, Lois nodded. "Alright," she answered after a long pause, "I'll help you with Lex and the Construct. It killed Chloe. I want it to pay."

"It will," Clark said with affirmation. "I promise."

"And then we're _done. _" She said abruptly, walking through the balcony doors and slamming it shut behind her.

Clark stood there for a second, trying to find the words and knowing there weren't any. With a sigh, he stared through the glass, watching her disappear into her bedroom. He didn't violate her privacy by seeing through the door but the sound of her tears cut him just the same anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER FIVE: SUPERMAN'S GIRLFRIEND**

Lois hadn't slept.

Coupled with the revelation that Lex Luthor was innocent, her mind was a loop that kept repeating endlessly, no matter how much Lois tried not to think about it. It was like watching a crappy clip show in her head. _The greatest hits of Lois and Clark_, she thought sardonically when she finally got dressed to go to work the next day. Their first meeting, their verbal sparing, their long talks, leading to the slow drift into each other orbits, secured finally by the kiss that changed _everything_.

Lois remembered how it felt when she knew she loved Clark. It was as if something shifted into place, like cosmic wheels turning in the distant place where the design of the universe was decided. All those failed relationships weren't meaningless after all, as if it was preparing her to realise the real thing when it came along. And recognised it she did. Since that day, her life had become a mixture of highs and lows. Yes, there had been danger but there was also moments of exquisite joy in being able to look into the blue of his eyes and know with utter certainty that he loved her as completely as she loved him.

When he left it was as if the soul had been sucked right out of her body and what followed was five years of emptiness where she had tried to forget that for brief time, she had never been so happy.

Now she was tossed back in time, to that same distraught woman she had been five years ago when he left and damn near broke her in the process. Not the same, she told herself defiantly as she walked out of her apartment into the street. Head held high, Lois was determined to reclaim her title of Queen Bitch of the Universe, transmission temporarily interrupted by the arrival of Krypton's last son. Despite how she felt about Clark, she was done weeping for him. He had made the choice to walk out on her. He could live with the consequences. As for Lois, she was going to work.

Balls to the wall bluster and burning at full furnace, Lois made her way to the Daily Planet.

That had been the plan.

The reality was _entirely_ different.

************

The first thing Lois Lane noticed when she stepped out of her cab in front of the Planet was the fact that just about everyone seemed to notice her arrival. Eyes darted in her direction as soon as she appeared, people whispered, they pointed and looked away guiltily when Lois stared back at them puzzled. For a moment, Lois wondered if she had left home without her clothes. However, as she was dressed, she came to the conclusion that was probably not _it_. Lois was walking past the new stand when suddenly she froze in her steps, staring open mouthed at the front page of the morning edition of the newspaper.

**METROPOLIS WELCOMES SUPERMAN**

By Clark Kent

Under the eye catching headline was a picture Lois guessed came from the shots Jimmy had taken when Clark had rescued her. If a picture was worth a thousand words then this one could fill a book's worth. Lois gaped in stupefied shock at the sight of herself in Clark's arms, his red cape swirling around them like a red cloud, the brilliant blue sky in the background. It didn't look like a photograph but the front cover of some cheesy Harlequin romance novel. With horror, Lois realised that while she might view it with distaste, the public was going to eat this up with a frigging shovel. Pictures like this ended up on Life Magazine or worse yet, as posters across the wall of every nut in the city.

And if that was not bad enough, the headline was apparently written by _Clark Kent_.

Snatching the paper after paying for it, Lois entered the Daily Planet building smouldering.

"Good morning Miss Lane!" Vicki at front reception greeted excitedly, staring at Lois as if she was Angelina Jolie or something. Vicki's reaction was not unique unfortunately and Lois spied other sniggering and laughing in her direction.

"WHAT?" She fairly snarled and shut them up with a near venomous look.

Silence followed until after Lois left the floor and then the conversations resumed with Lois barely able to contain her fury at how her personal anguish was becoming a very public humiliation. If she thought the reaction was gong to confined to the lobby, she was woefully mistaken. No sooner than she had stepped onto the newsroom floor, someone who sounded odiously like Cat Grant sang out loudly drawing laughter with her sneering voice.

"Hey, it's Superman's girlfriend, Lois Lane!"

Lois was ready to bite through titanium.

"Lois!" Jimmy stood up from his desk and hurried forward to greet her, throwing a reproachful look at the others in the room. "Come on guys, knock it off." He declared before turning to Lois and speaking in a lower octave. "I've got to talk to you. You've seen the headline?"

"Yes, I saw it," she hissed but didn't stop walking, heading directly towards Perry's office. "_Superman_? That's almost as bad as the Flying Man!"

"Oh I don't know," Jimmy started to say, as he followed her, a step behind. "I mean it is catchy and it _fits_."

Lois threw him a glare so fierce that Jimmy shut up immediately for fear of the consequences.

"Lois you shouldn't go in there!" He tried to warn her as Lois reached Perry's door. However, Lois being Lois, she wasn't listening.

"He's not alone…" Jimmy's voice trailed off when she barged into the room.

Perry White was behind his desk when Lois burst in. "Lois? Where the hell have you been?" He demanded, rising from his chair. "Are you alright? I've been trying to call you all night!"

"Alright?" Lois snapped almost incredulous. "How can I be alright? Someone tries to kill me yesterday by throwing me off a building and this morning, I find _this!_" She slammed the paper on the desk, rattling Perry's bottle of ulcer pills that was ordered as frequently as staples and paper clips.

"What?" Perry looked at her innocently. "This is the picture that makes news what it is Lois!"

"Who gives a crap about the picture?" Lois roared, "What the hell is this? _BY CLARK KENT? _"

Perry stared at her puzzled. "Kent? He's Bevin's replacement, I was in the middle of interviewing him when all this started. Who knew the kid was going to rush out and get the story of the century, first time. What a debut!"

"I wouldn't put it quite that way, Mr. White," a familiar voice said modestly behind Lois. "I was just at the right place at the right time."

Lois winced and turned around slowly.

Seated in the chair at the far end of Perry's desk was Clark Kent, dressed in a dark suit, open collared white shirt, his hair the same floppy mess she remembered from Smallville. A pair of steel framed glasses sat on the bridge on his nose. The look was different but unmistakably Clark.

"Lois Lane," Perry said, "meet Clark Kent. Kent joined us yesterday."

"Oh did he now?" Lois glared at him, uncertain whether or not it was worth the broken knuckles to take a swing at him. He had stood there on her balcony, telling her he was sorry and all the while, he had been planning to invade her life. The Planet was the _one_ place she could feel in control of her life, where there was no doubt or hesitation. It was _her _place. How dare he violate that space too?

"Kent and I go way back Lois," Perry explained, noticing the storm cloud over Lois was growing in intensity, "when I passed through his home town. Wait, you should know each other," he pointed out. "Didn't you work on Senator Kent's campaign?"

Lois' eyes narrowed. "Something like that."

Clark watched her, telling himself that this was a terrible thing he was doing. He had hurt her enough and she didn't deserve any more pain. However, he wasn't the uncertain young man he had been five years ago either. He was a man now and that man wasn't prepared to give up on Lois just yet. In the twilight hours after leaving her, Clark had time to think about their encounter on the balcony. She was in pain yes, she was angry – she had every right to be but with a certainty he knew with every fibre of his being, he knew she still _loved him_.

This worked out well because he had never fallen out of love with her either.

However, with all things Lois, it wasn't going to be easy. It required more than a cape and super abilities to win her back. She had always made him work to win her love, this time would be no different than any other, with perhaps one exception; he was never going to run out on her again. Ever.

"Say I have an idea," Perry spoke up, inspiration illuminating his face, "since he saved your life and Clark got the interview with Superman, maybe you two should work together on a follow up story.

Lois shot Perry a look of pure death. This was not happening. This could not be happening!

"I…do…not…work with partners," Lois growled and almost went for blood when she saw Clark barely ably to keep from smiling.

"Oh you can make an exception Lois," Perry returned, quite enjoying seeing his favourite reporter becoming more and more unhinged. Most of the time it was Lois who gave him the ulcers so it was nice once in a while to get some payback. "Now get out of my office you two, every paper in this town is chasing a follow up on Superman. Don't come back until you have something."

Lois started to speak but Clark answered before she could tell him what she thought of that suggestion. "Happy to Mr. White."

"Call me Perry Kent," the newsman grinned.

"Call me nauseated." Lois snorted and stormed out.

***************

For Jimmy Olsen, yesterday had been a revelation.

Oh yes, the minute he saw the so called 'Flying Man' catch Lois, he knew exactly who that man was, even before he snapped the picture that proved it conclusively. He didn't get the full story, not until later, when the offer he had made to Clark Kent was accepted following the excitement of the rescue had died down and Perry had hastily called an end to their interview.

Jimmy had looked at him after Clark returned to the newsroom, leaving chaos in the wake of Lois' dramatic rescue, understanding at last why it was he always felt left out when it came to Chloe's relationship with Clark. It was why his relationship with Chloe could never get past its infancy. There had always been rift between them, created by Clark Kent's secret. In hindsight, Jimmy understood why. Back then, the meteor generation weren't recognized and Clark's abilities would have landed him in a lab or worse.

Chloe had wanted to protect her friend from that and Jimmy understood it now. It made the photographer wish things had been different between them. At the very least, he would have like to have told her that he was sorry for doubting her.

Now Jimmy found himself entrusted with the same secret so he did what he knew what Chloe would have wanted of him if she were alive; he would keep the secret. When Clark had returned to the apartment, after creating charged excitement across Metropolis and meeting Lois, they had talked over beer and pizza. Jimmy tried to wrap his mind around the fact that his house guest apparently leapt tall buildings in a single bound.

Talking in a way they hadn't spoken…_ever_, Clark told Jimmy the truth about everything. He wasn't a meteor freak, not by a long shot. Jimmy learned about Krypton, about a parent's desperate bid to save their child in a world facing annihilation. It was touching story, one that made an odd kind of sense, the pieces of the jigsaw finally coming together.

This morning, it was surreal riding the train with a guy who flew over the city like a god, talking about good neighbourhoods in proximity of the Planet and what was a reasonable commute. Nevertheless, Jimmy felt a sense of privilege and likened himself to Sancho Panza as he followed Don Quixote in his fight against windmill giants.

Although Sancho Panza never had to warn Don Quixote to beware of Dulcinea, he was sure.

The door to Perry's office bursting open snapped Jimmy out of his reverie. He had been sitting at his desk pretending to eye the photographs he had taken yesterday, even though his gaze kept shifting to Perry's door, trying to imagine what was happening between Clark and Lois. He could only imagine just how she'd react. In the last four years, Jimmy had become Lois Lane's best friend. He had been dating Lucy for some time but he and Lois' had a friendship that her younger sister knew to respect. He knew that despite her feigned indifference to the subject of Clark Kent, she had been nothing less than devastated when Clark had left.

Hadn't he been the first one to say that they had chemistry?

Lois Lane stormed out, eyes blazing, a fire elemental in comparison to the cool, breezy demeanour of Clark Kent. Some could compare them to fire and ice. Not at all, Jimmy thought with a little smile, fire and wind was more appropriate. She marched right past her desk and kept going, headed for the ladies bathroom. Jimmy watched her go and approached Clark who returned to his new desk, courtesy of Bevins.

"How did it go?" Jimmy asked, staring after Lois.

"Lois was Lois," Clark shrugged, unpacking the box of the belongings he brought in with him today.

"Homicidal?" he pointed out.

Clark lifted his gaze to the direction of the bathroom.

"Hey, no peeking," Jimmy ordered under his breath. "Suffer like the rest of us guys."

Clark uttered a short laugh, finding Jimmy not as abrasive as before and glad to have confided in him. In truth, Jimmy had seen him in Smallville and it was going to be difficult assuming that he wouldn't recognise Superman as anyone but Clark Kent. No idiot would believe that a pair of glasses made him a different person.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Clark smirked.

"Sure, sure," Jimmy snorted, "that's what you say and then there's the truth." He replied and then eyed Clark with a more sober expression. "You know this isn't going to be easy right?'

"Nothing worth having ever is." Clark returned quietly, knowing that no statement could be truer when applied to Lois Lane.

**************

Lois Lane stared into the bathroom mirror, trying to pull herself together.

She couldn't do this. She just couldn't. Five years of anguish could not be forgotten so easily as much as she wished otherwise. Why was Clark doing this to her? Hadn't he hurt her enough? Why couldn't he just go away? She knew why of course, even she was not so obtuse, no matter how angry she was at him. She could not deny that his feelings weren't entirely mutual. Martha had once told her that she'd find her Jonathan. Martha probably never imagined that Lois' Jonathan would be her son Clark but then Lois hadn't thought her Jonathan would run out on her either.

However, he was still her Jonathan and Lois knew, deep in the core of her, he always would be. That did not change the fact that he had inflicted upon her five years of pain that was still too raw for her to simply throw her arms open to him and cry all was forgiven. He had broken her heart and there were some wounds that could not be healed or forgiven.

Jonathan or not.

Regaining her composure, Lois decided that if this was the course Clark wished to pursue, then so be it. She wouldn't make it easy for him and she would make it clear that this pathetic attempt to wheedle his way into her life wouldn't work either. Clearly he was the delusion that all it would take was his continued presence to gain her forgiveness. If that was his reasoning, he had another thing coming, Lois told herself as she straightened herself out in the mirror, primping a little to show no indication of her earlier distress.

Once Lois was sure that the confident, professional who was the Planet's best investigative journalist was staring back at her in the mirror, she knew she was ready to go out there. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Lois stepped out of the bathroom and strode towards the news room floor, her head held high, exuding pride and presence.

Approaching Clark's new desk, both he and Jimmy fell silent when she neared them.

Clark could tell just by the look of her, Lois was seething with anger. While she projected a veneer of cold professionalism, Clark knew that beneath that hardened exterior which seemingly nothing could penetrate, she was furious. Trying to break through that shell to find the woman was one of the most challenging feats Clark Kent ever had to accomplish. Most gave up trying, preferring to seek consolation in the belief that she was as the bitch she appeared to be.

"Alright Rookie," she said sharply, acknowledging Jimmy with merely a fraction of a nod. "Let's take a walk." Lois retorted, not pausing at the desk but continuing towards the lift.

Jimmy gave Clark look of sympathy as he stood to follow her, bracing himself for the worst.

She led him to the elevator saying nothing but each look she threw his way was laced with arsenic. Clark decided to err on the side of caution and remain silent, saying nothing until they were freer to speak. He wasn't surprised when he stepped into the wood polished interior of the elevator and saw that she pushed the button to the roof. Lois didn't look at him, her eyes fixed on the numbers as they continued their slow ascent, oblivious to the other occupants in the lift until finally they reached the top.

She still hadn't said anything.

The doors slid open and Lois stepped out of the elevator, taking the fire stairs that led to the roof. Clark followed her, guessing that she wanted absolute privacy. He could appreciate that since he would need to speak freely as well. She went through the doors first with Clark following closely behind.

Stepping onto the roof, the wind rushed around them as was the case on buildings 30 stories up. Yesterday that hadn't been time to admire the view and frankly for Clark, no view could match the panoramic view he had of the city every time he flew over it.

No sooner than she had stopped walking did Lois turn around and slap him, _hard_.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The slap didn't hurt of course but the rage behind it, did. "I applied for a job at the Planet a few days ago," he tried to explain but knew that was not what she was referring to.

"You said you would go if I asked you to….what the hell is this? I work here! This is my place! Of all the papers you could have applied for, THIS is the one you picked? Why? To be close to me?"

With a completely straight face, he answered. "Actually no, it's the only one that would give me an interview."

"WHAT?" Lois pulled up abruptly, wondering if her humiliation could get any worse.

"Its true," Clark tried to use logic here. Sometimes, it was the life preserver of a drowning argument. "I don't have that much experience as a journalist, Perry had read my stuff when I was in High School and he owed me a favour from back then. We ran into each other once."

"I don't care!" Lois exploded. "You stroll back after five years, invading my life, my job, making me a laughing stock across the city! They're calling me Superman's girlfriend for Christ sake!"

"I thought it was kind of catchy," he shrugged, unsurprised by her anger but lashes from Lois always drew blood, even from one as invulnerable as he.

"Where did you come up with it anyway?" She asked irritated, not really interested in the answer.

"Chloe," Clark answered.

Lois' bluster diminished somewhat and she found herself asking, "Chloe?"

"Yeah," he nodded quietly. "Whenever I used my powers, she always described it as super speed, super vision, super hearing…sounded kind of fitting. It had to be batter than Flying Man."

Lois remembered Chloe's phrasing well and Clark's use of it as a name for his alter-ego was as telling as Lois using Chloe Bly as secret identity. "_Anything_ is better than Flying Man," she replied, thawing a little.

"I went to Chloe's grave…" he started to say.

If there was one thing that could have reminded her of what he had done, it was that. The momentary thaw ended swiftly and Lois' hostility returned in full force. "Spare me," she growled, "How long do you plan on carrying on this façade? I don't want you at my place of work." She was unkindly.

Clark took in a breath, determined to hold his ground no matter how hard Lois tried to push him away. He recognised the tactic well. She pushed away the people who might get too close by hurting them. In the beginning, she had used Lana for that end to good effect. Now it was Chloe. "No, not until we find a way to help Lex," he said firmly. "This way, we can work together without drawing suspicion…"

"That one of us wears a cape?" She bit back sarcastically.

"Something like that," Clark sighed. "Lois, I am sorry that you're upset but I didn't do this to hurt you, I just needed a job and a chance to build a life for myself again."

"You had a life," she retorted. "You're the one who walked away from it," she accused, refusing to give in, refusing to admit that he did have that right.

"Lois I'm not debating with you that I screwed up. You're right I did mess up but I want things to be right, between us too. I don't expect us to pick up where we left off but I thought we could be friends at least." He said sincerely.

"You always thought to much," Lois turned away, unable to look at him.

Taking on a new tact, he replied. "If you really think that you can't handle being around me, I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I'll concede without a fight."

You are bad, bad man, Clark Kent, he told himself.

Lois bristled and swung around. "I don't need you to concede anything! I'm a big girl; I can handle working with you if I had to do."

Too easy, Clark thought silently, even though he knew he should feel guilty for playing her this way. However, any advantage he could get with Lois could only help the situation.

"Hey if it makes you feel any better, unlike Warrior Angel's girlfriend Susie Sondheim, you know my secret…."

If she had Kryptonite, he would have been a dead man.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SIX: LEX

Lois returned to her desk following her rooftop discussion with Clark, determined to prove that she could master her emotions despite the turmoil caused by his return. She was a professional and if she could just see her way to regarding him as nothing else, then she could do this. It was only when she started thinking about the past, about what he had been to her and the hole he left in her heart when he vanished, that she started to break down and become no good to anyone, least of all herself.

At her desk with a blank computer screen in front of her and the energy of the newsroom buzzing about frantically, Lois started to relax a little. She convinced herself that today was just like any other day, not an emotional rollercoaster that left her dazed and uncertain. Throwing herself into the rituals of the morning to regain her equilibrium, Lois went to get coffee, checked her voice mail, answered her telephone messages and planned her diary for the day. None of which involved covering a Superman story.

Unless of course, the public wanted the inside scoop on Clark Kent who at this moment was studying a Hawaiian hula girl doll left on his desk from his predecessor.

Almost unconsciously, she found herself staring at him without meaning to. Lois watched him unpack his desk, push those steel rimmed glasses further up his nose, filling out forms which she could tell by the way he straightened his back, he was impatient with having to do at normal speed. Occasionally, he would pause to be introduced to someone by Jimmy, who had taken it upon himself to be Clark's orientation guide at the Planet.

Then there were moments when he would look up and catch her gaze, a small smile stealing across his face, the one that used to make her heart leap a little (and damn him) _still_ did before she'd break the stare and turn away.

"Quite a dish huh?" Catherine Grant's voice spoke above her, like smooth molasses.

Of course she was talking about Clark, Lois didn't even have to ask. Catherine Grant's radar was configured to detect every man without a wedding ring no matter what the distance. If she worked for NASA, they would have found extra terrestrial life by now.

"I suppose," Lois muttered looking away from Clark, "glasses seem a little dorky to me." She shrugged, pulling up the Google homepage so that it looked like she was actually working.

"Glasses?" Cat stared at her puzzled. "I'm talking about _him_." She held in her hands a copy of the morning edition with Jimmy's rather dramatic picture of herself and Superman.

"If you like capes," Lois winced at the sight of the picture again. Jimmy had captured the exact moment when Lois had realised Clark was back. Someone had said a picture was worth a thousand words, the more Lois looked at it, the more she realised that the only message it conveyed was her naked, exposed emotions. Anyone who looked at this would believe that she had been swept off her feet like the proverbial damsel in distress.

"Oh come on," Cat retorted, "you got to be a little excited about this. You fall off a tall building and some god swoops in out of nowhere and rescues you, like Prince Charming. I know you don't have a romantic bone in your body but you have to admit, that's a _hell_ of an entrance."

Lois smouldered and bit back. "Look Cat, he's a story okay? Nothing more! Now I've got a story to do," she reached for her blackberry and her note pad before shoving it into her purse. "Why don't you run along and do whatever it is you _do_ around here." She said sweetly.

"Nice," Cat rolled her eyes. "Oh I'm sure you're after a story and not the tall, hunky rookie I hear Perry stuck you with. Since you're not interested, I call dibs."

Lois stopped short and turned to Cat.

"Dibs?" She declared incredulously. In what passed for fair play in Catherine Grant's universe, the woman had an annoying habit of verbalising her intentions on any previously unclaimed bachelor that wandered into her orbit. In the past, Lois had been a bystander in this demeaning practice since Cat's choices were questionable to say the least and she had no interest in dating the men that Cat Grant found attractive. Lois' focus was on more important things, like her next story instead of the wasteland that was her love life.

"You are not calling dibs or anything else for that matter on _my_ partner," she retorted sharply, with more emotion than she cared to show. "The last thing I need is for the guy who's meant to be watching my back, to be watching your ass because he's been CaTnipped."

"Meow," the blond returned with a smirk. "So you _do_ mind if I call dibs."

Lois Lane bristled and went from emotional to battle mode. "I mind on a professional level," she said haughtily. "I'm sure if you need to scratch that itch, there are prescription drugs available or you can call whomever you usually call in situations like this…you know the FLEET?"

"Okay, okay," Cat conceded defeat laughing although she felt no shame because it was clear she scored a direct hit, "I know when I'm trespassing on marked territory."

"There…is…no…marked _anything, _" Lois retorted, trying to maintain her dignity although the urge to hit something was becoming overwhelming. Please, let her be mugged today, so she could kick the crap out of _someone_. Deciding that a tactical retreat was necessary before violence ensued, Lois grabbed her handbag and her blackberry, leaving Cat to grow at her desk.

Heading towards the elevator, she decided a cappuccino was in order, not to mention some fresh air. Too many thoughts were rushing through her head today and she needed a story to write to channel all that emotion into.

"So where are we going?" Clark suddenly appeared next to her as she waited for the elevator.

It was impossible not to hear the conversation between Lois and Cat Grant who he had yet to meet (and Clark hadn't decided whether or not this was a good thing) but knowing that Lois felt so strongly about Cat keeping him off her radar, further convinced him that there was nothing misguided in his hopes to rebuild their relationship.

Lois didn't look at him. "_We_ are not going anywhere. I am going to get a…."

"Macchiato with vanilla and caramel," he said automatically, a smirk on his lips. During the nights when she was working on a story for the Inquisitor, he'd keep her company while providing macchiatos and donuts to help with the writing process. Then she'd curl up next to him on the sofa while he played the part of impromptu copy editor since Lois couldn't spell worth a damn. "I remember," he threw a sidelong glance at her while they waited for the elevator to arrive.

The memory caught her by surprise to and she softened a fraction before nodding, "Right. So I don't need company."

"We should get to work on that Superman story," Clark returned, not even close to giving up on her, even if she was pointed about not wanting him around. "_Remember? _"

"You're such a boy scout Small…" Lois started to say and then pulled up short. She had almost called him Smallville. _Damn him. _

Hiding that he was just as affected as she by the use of that familiar nickname, Clark replied quietly. "Lois, we also have that _other_ project to work on."

Lois blinked and looked at him. In all the turmoil of the day, she had completely forgotten that Lex Luthor was presently sitting in jail for a murder he did not commit. The elevator doors slid open and Lois was grateful when no one else was in it. Stepping inside, she waited until the doors closed before she dared to speak again. Part of her insomnia the night before had to do with her role in Lex's incarceration and the lives that had been changed because of it.

"Clark," she regarded him, brushing away all the hurt and anguish that he had caused her for now because they did have a job to do. "We need to tell Lana."

"No," he said firmly and for a moment, he sounded very unlike Clark Kent but the man in the cape, the Superman the city was so enamoured with.

"Clark she _deserves_ to know," Lois insisted. "She left him and took their daughter with her, believing he killed Chloe. She's raised that child without Lex on the belief that he's a murderer, she has a right to know that he isn't."

"She does," Clark nodded, agreeing with that part at least. "But not yet, not until we can help him." Facing Lois, he met her hazel eyes with his blue. "If we tell her now, before we can clear him, Lana's going to tear herself apart with guilt. _That_, she doesn't deserve."

Since his return, Clark had opportunity to watch Lana as well in secret. A part of him would always watch over the first girl he ever loved. Perhaps Fate had always known they were never meant to be but Clark couldn't deny how much he had once wished otherwise. That strange, blinding love was gone now, diminished in a softer, deeper thing. He would always love Lana but until the day he died and beyond, Lois would own his soul.

Lois didn't like it but Clark was right. Her mind returned her to the morning she had spent with Lana and Laura at the apartment, with the little girl watching Pingu whilst eating obnoxious coloured doughnuts. Lois remembered Laura answering to the name of Starbuck, showing her dolls and the room Chloe used to inhabit, now covered with fairy themed wallpaper. She thought of Lana walking the child to her Little Dolphin playgroup, her small fingers clutching Lana's own. It was a nice life that Lana Lang had made for herself and her daughter, a life that was devoid of a father who would have given them everything.

"Alright," she said sedately, crushing the guilt she felt at her part in Lana's fractured life, focusing on how to mend the wrong she had been responsible for. "We don't tell her," she agreed but raised her eyes to Clark to add, "_yet_."

************

Twenty minutes later, Clark and Lois were facing each other over a table at Lori's coffee house, with Lois nursing her beloved Macchiato and Clark going for the traditional brew. Still the Kansas farm boy, Lois thought as she tried to come to grips with the surreal realisation that she was sitting across from Clark Kent, the great love of her life, back from five years in exile, having metamorphoses into Superman, while disguised as mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet.

_Frigging surreal, alright. _

To combat any awkwardness, Lois forced herself to regard their shared mission as she would any story. Therefore, as the reporter with all the experience, she took the lead, analysing the evidence with a methodical and non-emotional approach, even if the evidence was one of the most painful experiences of her entire life.

"Okay," she said putting down her cup, sufficiently caffeinated for her brains to be firing on all thrusters. "We know the Construct killed Chloe. What I can figure out is why."

Grateful to jump on Lois' train of thought because he knew from the articles he had read, she really was the best investigative journalist this town had ever seen and for all his strength, Lois had always proved that when it came to clear thinking, she could hold her own against the likes of Oliver and possibly, even Bruce. "I thought revenge, because I sent Zod back to the Zone."

"No," she shook her head. "Its not revenge. You've told me that the Construct is a computer program, sentient, very advanced but _still_ a machine. Machines don't take things personally. Every encounter you've had with it in the past, was a component of a larger plan. If he took out Chloe, there was a reason for it, something we haven't seen yet."

_God, she was magnificent, _Clark thought, watching Lois with admiration as she theorized out loud. "Okay," he nodded, "I'm with you. The Construct was always subtle. If it was a matter of getting Chloe out of the way, why go through all the trouble of framing Lex?"

"That's the part I have trouble with," Lois declared, shaking her head. "It used Lex before when it needed what he wanted, why take him out of the equation completely?"

"Unless there's something Lex knows…" Clark suggested.

"He didn't mention it at his trial," Lois retorted, having covered that story religiously, not because it was a media sensation but because she wanted to be there every day to see the bastard get his comeuppance for what he did. "You think if he was in the possession of important information like that, he'd tell someone or at least his defence attorney."

"Not necessarily Lois," he said thoughtfully, taking a sip of his coffee. "Remember this is Lex, he always liked his secrets. Maybe he didn't say anything about this one because it couldn't help him. I mean most of the stuff he was into back then dealt with Section 33.1, it's not exactly information he wanted to get out there for the public to know."

"True," she agreed, glancing at her watch. "It wasn't as if he didn't have enough bad press. To tell the truth, the media had him convicted long before he got to trial." Lois felt a wave of guilt knowing that she was part of this media storm and brushed it aside quickly. A journalist had to be objective and at the time, the evidence of his guilt was overwhelming enough for her to believe that he was guilty as charged.

"So we need to know what Lex knows," Clark sighed.

"Yeah Rookie," Lois nodded before standing up and drained he last of her Macchiato. "Come on."

Clark looked up at her blankly and did the same to his coffee before he followed her out of the café. "Where are we going?"

Lois glanced at her watch again and hailed a cab as the stood at the sidewalk. "Visiting hours are about to start at Metropolis State Penitentiary, we should just make it."

**************

He was innocent.

He woke up every day with that thought in his mind, refusing to let it go, no matter how many people stared at him like he was still insane to keep up the charade after five years inside. He kept it in his mind, like a mantra, with each letter he wrote to Lana that was returned, with each new appeal that reached its inevitable conclusion with denial. Lex knew he was innocent of killing Chloe Sullivan.

There were many things that he was guilty of, some too atrocious to name and had he been incarcerated for those, he would have accepted it because that was the risk one took when one played dangerous games. However, in the death of his wife's best friend, he refused to accept it. At times Lex wondered if this was a bad dream, some nightmare scenario devised by a chemical concoction at Bellevue Sanatorium. Then he'd wake up to the stench of urine and the snores of the man in the bunk above him and know that all of it was real. He'd lay awake for most of the night, fighting the urge to weep in the dark for that was the refuge of prisoners unable to hide from themselves, unable to hide from the truth.

Sometimes, he'd stare at the picture of the little girl with the dark hair and his mother's eyes and tried to vanquish the ache that gnawed at him, knowing that she had no idea who he was. All his life, he had wanted a family, not the dysfunctional, manipulative entity that Lionel Luthor had fostered but a _real_ family, where a husband and wife loved each other and the children they created. He didn't blame Lana for her actions, for taking his daughter away from him. Even though she had never answered, Lex kept his letters true to the affection in his heart, he still loved her and he still wanted to be apart of her life and that of their daughters.

The unfairness of it was more than he could stand at times.

Today however, offered a new revelation as he stared at the newspaper he bribed a guard to bring him everyday. Staring at the picture of Lois Lane being held in the air with the man the newspapers were calling Superman, Lex Luthor found one mystery in his life answered unexpectedly. He sat there in his bunk staring at the face of the man in the picture, ignoring the cape and the costume, seeing connections everywhere, even in the colours.

_Clark's colours_, he found himself thinking.

Like a kaleidoscope in his head, all became clear to him, the rescue at the bridge, the efforts to hide, the hushed whispers when he walked into the Kent house, why Clark was the only one who could read the markings on the Kawachee caves. It made perfect sense once you had the final piece of the puzzle. In sadness, he realised a few things as well, why Clark couldn't trust him. Why Clark had let Lana go. For a man who dealt in secrets, Lex realised that it wasn't him that Clark didn't trust, it was _everyone_.

For the first time in years, Lex's experienced a day where Lana and his wrongful incarceration wasn't foremost in his mind. He wondered what the information about Superman's identity was worth. The most reasonable course was to use it to his advantage but in doing so he would prove Lana right about him. She had believed him to be a murderer and he had been able to maintain some moral high ground because he knew it was a lie however, if he revealed who Superman was to the world, he'd lose that and any chance of proving to her he was a good man.

"Luthor," he heard his name being called from across the courtyard, "you've got visitors."

Clark fidgeted in the hard chair he was sitting on. Sweeping his gaze across the grey walls of the room, his eyes rested on the sunlight pouring through the barred window of the visitor's room. Surrounded by walls and bars, he didn't need to use his x-ray vision to get a glimpse of Lex's brutal world. This room that stank of mould and bodily fluids told him all he needed to know about Lex Luthor's word during the last five years. All this time, his guilt had been cantered around how he had hurt Lois but sitting in this room, staring at the sky through mesh, Clark began to see that Lex had been similarly wronged as well.

Lois noted Clark's discomfort and could not deny feeling the same upset. They had both, in completely different ways, condemned Lex to this concrete hell, Clark by his absence and Lois by providing the evidence that led to Lex's arrest. In five years, she had never made this journey because she didn't trust herself to be in the same room with Chloe's killer. Lois' hate for Lex Luthor had almost been a living thing and now that she knew the truth, that hate had evolved into a guilt just as potent.

Despite her hostility towards Clark, she softened a bit seeing his uneasiness. "You okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine," Clark replied, meeting her gaze with slight surprise at her question. He didn't think he warranted sympathy in her eyes. Now more than ever.

Clark's superhearing picked up the footsteps approaching long before they became audible to Lois and the instant he heard them, his stomach clenched in reaction. Almost involuntarily, he spied a look at Lex as he was escorted down the corridor with a guard. What he saw unnerved him a little. Lex looked the same, bald, same aristocratic features and lean build. There was a scar above his left brow and more lines on his face. However, it wasn't that Lex looked older but rather harder.

His blue eyes were like flint.

"He's coming," was all Clark could say.

Lois too tensed up at that announcement and waited, almost with held breath as Lex appeared through the bars. They were facing him so the instant Lex came into view; he made eye contact with both of them. There was little or not reaction other than a slight curl of his lips as he was shown in.

"Well, well, well," Lex exclaimed meeting Clark's gaze as he slipped through the doors and the guard retreated to the back wall of the corridor to afford them privacy enough not to be overheard but in close enough proximity to reach them quickly if the prisoner misbehaved. "The Prodigal Son returns."

"Hello Lex," Clark greeted.

"Interesting look," Lex remarked, noting Clark's appearance.

"It serves." Clark answered, waiting for the inevitable to come up.

"I meant the cape," Lex retorted.

And there it was.

"Look," Lois spoke up for the first time neither denying or confirming Lex's statement. Best to leave that wolf at the door for the moment. "Let's get past this high noon crap shall we? Lex we're here for a reason."

"Gee and here I thought you'd came to show your boyfriend what you've been up to the last five years since he's been gone," Lex said snidely.

"Great Lex," Lois snorted, "keep being an ass so you can spend the rest of your life in here."

Lex blinked just enough to show that her words had startled him.

"Lex," Clark interjected, "I know you didn't kill Chloe."

Lex didn't answer but his sardonic demeanour vanished and his eyes began brittle as glass, waiting or Clark to finish.

Clark paused a moment and then revealed. "It was Fine."

Suddenly Lex launched himself out of his seat, his hand reaching for Clark's throat. The guard at the wall raced forwards as Clark grabbed hold of Lex's arm and shoved him backwards into chair, calling out hastily.

"It's okay!" He told the man to desist, "I'm fine. Everything's okay." The guard who seemed dubious but took Clark at his word when Lex settled back into his seat, glaring daggers at his guests.

"Five years!" he hissed. "I have been sitting in here for _five years_! Where the hell were you Clark?" Your girlfriend here made sure they crucified me for Chloe's death and you knew it was Fine all along? Do you have any idea what I've gone through? I have a daughter I haven't seen since she was in diapers. Do you know the only picture I have of her is what I've managed to cut out of the papers when they decide to some retrospective on my case! DO YOU?"

"It wouldn't have made any difference Lex," Clark said quietly, feeling worse with each word said. "Its not enough to know that Fine killed her, you and I both know that proving it is something else entirely. Lois may have provided the DA with the information that convicted you but if it wasn't Lois, it would have been someone else. Fine may have killed Chloe but you were the one he intended to destroy."

Lois had fallen silent, allowing Clark to speak because Lex's words stabbed at her more than she liked. Five years of being denied his family because she had been tricked into believing the evidence was authentic. She should have known by now that in Smallville, things were never what they seemed but Lois had been so angry at Chloe's death, she had been willing to take what was in front of her at face value.

Lex smouldered, his fury subsiding like bile in his throat because he knew Clark was right. "Then you can get met out of here," he glared at Clark. "I know you can. Get me out of here or else…" The threat was clear.

"Or else what?" Lois declared before Clark could respond. "You tell everyone the truth? I don't know whether you've noticed or not Lex, you're not exactly the most credible source of information lately. Besides, even if such a thing was possible and you escaped, then what?" She challenged. "You'd spent the rest of your life as a fugitive and Lana will still never let you near your daughter. Is that what you want?"

Lex wanted to refute her words but she was right and the only thing that had kept him from going insane inside this place was the hope that maybe, one day he could win his family back. "So what's the alternative?" He asked bitterly.

"We're going to find out the truth," Clark tossing Lois a look of thanks before facing Lex again. "Fine could have killed Chloe at any time, no prison could ever hold him but he didn't do that, he killed her to ensure that _you_ took the blame for it. If we're going to get to the bottom of this, we need to know why."

Lex swallowed thickly, hating the fact that he had to rely on Lois Lane and Clark Kent for his freedom but he had no choice. Lois was right. He could force Clark to free him but that freedom without Lana meant nothing to him. He wanted his life back and to do that, he needed to be proven innocent.

"Alright," he said after a long pause conceding defeat. "What do you want to know?"


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER SEVEN: SYMMETRY

"You should have trusted me."

It wasn't as if Clark didn't expect these words to come from Lex but it surprised him how sharp they felt to hear.

"You gave me no reason to," Clark retaliated firmly, recovering after the accusation had seeped into the moment and left an indelible stain upon the both of them. "You were so obsessed with the secret that nothing else mattered."

"Our friendship _mattered_," Lex glared at him unflinching, merciless.

Once again, that hurt more than it should have and Clark found no answer to give Lex. He tried not to be affected by the grey walls, the square of light that did not give hope of the world outside, but a cruel taunt to the world denied. He tried not to think that perhaps he should have given Lex the benefit of the doubt.

Lex continued to speak, using the bars around them like a crucible to burn away seven years of deception.

"If I understood why, I would have done everything in the world to protect you and your secret. I never lied to you about my mine Clark, not in the beginning. It was only when the hypocrisy became too much for me that I started. You had the audacity to take the moral high ground while continuing to deceive everyone around you. You broke Lana's heart because you couldn't be honest with her. You destroyed our friendship for the same reason and let me guess, I'll bet Lois here didn't even get a word of goodbye when you disappeared."

"Enough." Lois broke in finally, ending the tirade before it got any worse. She had been silent because guilt had left her inclined to let him have his say but she could see Clark's eyes and knew each word drew blood. As angry as Lois was with him, there was a part of her that refused to allow Clark to be put through this.

Even if Lex was right on the money about how Clark had left life.

"This isn't Oprah," she retorted curtly, "we're not trying to get in touch with our inner feelings here. We're here to talk about the Construct and why it had a hard on to get you out of the picture."

Clark was grateful for her intervention because refuting Lex's words would mean revisiting an old argument that did not serve any purpose for their current situation.

"I don't know what could be," Lex retorted. "I certainly wasn't involved in anything to do with Kryptonians at the time. Although I won't deny I was trying to do my part to stop an invasion."

"An invasion," Clark found himself blurting out with surprise, "of Kryptonians?" If he only knew how ludicrous that sounded, Clark thought inwardly. He, Kal-El was the last son of Krypton, the others were locked in the Zone, rightfully so.

"Well you have to admit," Lex retorted snidely, "the ones we've come across haven't exactly been friendly have they?"

Clark threw a glance at Lois and saw her shrug. Lex's words were hard to deny since Clark himself had asked those questions of Jor-El often enough and no good answer was ever received.

"Those were very specific circumstances," Clark said evenly. "There's only one Kryptonian to deal with and he doesn't plan on an invasion." It was the closest that Clark would ever get to telling Lex the truth.

"How comforting," Lex said dubiously. "I wasn't working on anything related to Krypton. The experiments with 33.1 continued, we had a mishap at one of our facilities and lives were lost. There was water damage and my people were cleaning up the mess, that's all. Obviously that meant keeping concealed some sensitive material, nothing that would invoke the interest of Milton Fine."

"Fine wouldn't just remove you and kill Chloe without good reason," Clark returned, not believing that Lex had given the entire truth. Despite his accusations of deception, Clark knew that Lex wasn't above telling a lie to suit his own purposes. "There has to be something more." He insisted.

Lois studied the interplay between the two men. They were like night and day. Reflections of each other, she thought. She also studied Lex as Clark interrogated him, falling into the background a little so that she could study them. She had interviewed a lot of people in her time and had learned to become a good judge of character, most of the time.

She didn't think Lex was lying because it seemed to her that he had spent considerable time on this subject, probably every waking day, analysing how he had come to be in this situation. She knew that if she were incarcerated for a crime she did not commit, then she would be thinking really hard on who did.

"What kind of mishap?" Lois asked instead.

Lex blinked, breaking his stare at Clark. The two men were sitting across each other, sharing animosity like a meal, savouring each morsel.

"Seismic instability caused by Zod's last attempt to take over the world," Lex answered looking at her. "The facility was located near the Smallville damn and structural failure caused unexpected flooding. A few people drowned," he shrugged. "Tragic."

"Another one of your 33.1 laboratories?" Clark accused.

"Yes," Lex glared at him.

"I doubt the Construct would have any particular interest in meteor freaks," Clark replied, looking at Lois. "His only interest is in getting Zod into another vessel."

"Unless he earmarked one of them _as a_ vessel," Lois pointed out.

"Then why isn't Zod here?" Lex retorted. "He got me out the way and access to the subjects of 33.1. If it's all about a vessel, shouldn't Zod be here by now?"

Clark fell silent thinking. Something was wrong. Something was missing. Lex and Lois were both right. The Construct's entire reason of being was freeing Zod and it couldn't do it without access to the Fortress. During all that time that Clark had undergone training, there had been no sign of the Construct. Even if could find another Vessel, the Construct could not open the Zone and allow Zod to take possession of the new body without betraying itself.

"He's right," Lois nodded pointed out. "Although Clark, he might be waiting for you to come back. Maybe he couldn't find what he needed with Lex's 33.1 project and that's why he's stalled. Maybe he needs _you_."

"Well," Lex sat back into his chair, "you've made good press in the last two days," eyeing them both with a mixture of amusement and contempt. "I'm sure he'll be making an appearance _anytime_ now."

Clark hadn't thought of that and while a handful of people knew his identity, even Lex, he was mindful of the damage that the Construct could cause because it knew he was Clark Kent.

"Then I'll be sure to ask him," Clark said coolly, showing no sign of concern even though he was inwardly fearing for Lois' safety. He had been careless once before and it had cost Chloe her life, there was no way he would make that mistake again. "We should go," he looked at her, satisfied that they had learned all they could from Lex.

"So what happens now, Clark?" Lex asked watching him rise from his chair. "You go off and save the day?" There was nothing but derision in his voice.

"We're working on it," Lois retorted hastily, seeing no reason to indulge Lex in this chest thumping exercise. "If there is a way to get you out of here, we'll find it."

"Well I'm not going anywhere," Lex said sarcastically.

Clark stepped to the door of the cell, nodding at the guard who immediately came forward from the far wall, keys jangling as he approached the door.

"I'm sorry this happened to you Lex," Clark looked over his shoulder at the man still seated at the table. This was his friend once and not for the first time today, he wondered if Lex was right. If he had just trusted Lex with the truth, maybe they wouldn't have found themselves facing each other in a prison cell. "I never meant for this."

Lex snorted in disbelief and bitterness.

Lois saw the hurt in Clark's eyes and felt her heart softened a little. It had been no easier on her, seeing Lex like this and knowing that the crime he had been jailed for was one he didn't commit. However, innocent was a word used loosely with him and that allowed her to cope with her guilt a bit better. Still when she heard the keys turn in the lock and the heavy clang of the gate being opened, she did feel inclined to speak.

"Lex," she met his resentful eyes and spoke with a voice that was very unlike Lois Lane, "Laura likes Barney, frosted prink doughnuts and penguins. She has fairies on her wallpaper and your eyes. She's beautiful, Lex." Lois said with a bittersweet smile.

And like snow under the sunlight, Lois saw his hatred diminish, fading as he listened with emotion in his eyes that made it glisten. If there was any doubt in her mind that he never truly loved Lana, it vanished then. Whatever else he was, he loved Lana and his child and _still_ did.

"Lana calls her Starbuck, after her favourite book."

Lex let out a soft sound, it could have even a gasp. He swallowed thickly, trying to compose himself because for an instant, his emotions were naked on his face.

"It's not her favourite book," Lex whispered. "Its mine. Starbuck was _my_ favourite character in Moby Dick."

****************

_"You should have trusted me." _

Clark Kent was haunted by those words as he and Lois headed back to the Planet after the interview with Lex was done. When he had walked out of his life to embrace his destiny, everything had seemed so clear. His course was what it should have been from the beginning, embracing his Kryptonian heritage so he could become the amalgamation of two cultures, taking the best that each had to offer. There had been no indecision. After Chloe's death, it had even seemed imperative but he had done so leaving many things undone.

The first and foremost of course was the harm caused to Lois. Damage he wasn't convinced would ever be truly repaired, even if things between worked out as he hoped. He had hurt her and for the rest of his life he would have to live with that. He knew she cared and with perseverance, for that was the only thing that worked with Lois, he was confident he could win her back but there would always be sense of betrayal between them.

Unlike Lex, who had lost five years.

Lois' words had affected Clark as profoundly as they had affected Lex. Despite what he had said to Lex about extricating the millionaire from the Gordian Knot he had become entangled in thanks to the Construct, the truth was, Clark hadn't even tried. He couldn't know for certain that things might have been different since he never made the effort. Furthermore, perhaps Lex would have been a different person if Clark had trusted him. His whole reason for creating Section 33.1 was because he believed that there was an eminent Kryptonian invasion. He had every reason to believe it after encounters with Zod, Fine, Nem-Ek and the like. He couldn't know that Krypton was gone and that other than the few survivors who had been jailed in the Zone, there were no other Kryptonians on Earth except Clark.

If he had known, so many things would be different.

"It's not your fault," Lois said, glancing at him from the driver's side.

"You just got through the last day telling me that it was," Clark shrugged with a little frown. "Don't let me off the hook now."

"You couldn't know that the Construct was going to pin the murder on Lex, Clark," Lois retorted, ignoring his former remark. "I believe it Clark. I believed it enough to authenticate the evidence and hand it over to the District Attorney. If there's fault to be had, it's mine. I'm the one who handed the authorities everything they needed to get Lex."

"You were following the evidence Lois," Clark said gently, giving her back a little of what she was offering him. "You were doing what any good reporter would do under the same circumstances. What Chloe would have done."

Lois swallowed thickly, still feeling the sorrow whenever her cousin's name was brought up. "Maybe," she returned as she saw the Daily Planet building in the distance, "and maybe I wanted someone to pay for her death."

Looking to change the subject or at least shift it slightly, or else he was going to reach over and touch her, Clark asked the question he hadn't gotten around to. "Where did you get the evidence anyway?"

"Lionel Luthor, if you would believe." Lois replied without hesitation.

"Lionel?" Clark exclaimed visibly shocked. "Lionel gave up Lex?"

"He was pretty shaken up that his kid would murder anyone Clark," Lois pointed out. "I mean you know better than anyone that Lionel did the whole born again thing after he got out of prison. He knew Lex was capable of a lot but _not_ cold blooded murder."

"Well we could use his help," he suggested. "He'd have access to all of Lex's projects during that time. If there was something that Fine was interested in, Lionel would probably know better than anyone what it could be."

"Good luck trying to see him," Lois retorted. "Since Lex's imprisonment, he's gone all Howard Hughes. Doesn't leave the Luthercorp Building, rarely seen in public. I think giving up Lex shook him more than he lets on. I wouldn't be surprised if he's not in the best of health. No one's really seen him in ages."

"I think he'd make an exception for me….," Clark started to say when something caught his attention.

The sound reminded Clark of those old WW2 movies that Jonathan and him was to watch when he was a kid, just after a B-52 bomber released its payload. Looking up, x-ray vision immediately pierced through the canopy of the car into the sky above them. The front carriage of a truck was plunging through the air, its fender leading the charge. Clark had just enough time to throw himself over Lois when it crushed the car beneath like it was paper.

Lois barely had time to utter a scream the roof collapsed above her and she felt Clark's body over hers, his arms pulling her close to his chest. The force of the impact fractured the bitumen road beneath them like paper, sending chunks of concrete, tar and dust into the air as a fireball exploded when the rest of the truck reached the ground. Cars in front and behind came to a screeching halt as pandemonium broke out.

Lois' world became a cacophony of explosions, grinding metal, shattering crashes and all the sounds one would equate with a collapsing building. She felt the spray of glass exploded against the destroyed seat and a loss of all senses as the car was driven into the sewer tunnels beneath the road, trailing debris, chunks of rock and metal. Disorientated and confused while events crowded in on her, Lois was aware only that she was with Clark. Clark was holding onto her tight and though she would have died under any other circumstances, her terror was alleviated by the knowledge that he would _never_ allow that.

Suddenly they were moving, she felt the seat belt ripped away, they were tunnelling through all that damage, hearing more sounds of tearing and breakage, burying her face in his chest that suddenly wasn't wearing the suit but the familiar colours of the S-shield they began to soar. She looked up and saw that he was no longer Clark but Superman punching through the wreckage above the ruined car until they were on street level again. Pushing into sky, Lois looked down gasped at the twisted metal wreck that would have been her coffin if she wasn't with him.

"Christ Clark," she exclaimed softly, shaking. Even after all this time, flying with him still sent a shudder through her that was not all apprehension. "What the hell was that?"

"A truck," he said with a slight smile as he saw the crowd's attention no longer fixated on the crash but instead on the sight of Superman.

"Someone dropped a _truck_ on us?" Lois blurted out, settling her arms comfortably around his neck, noticing how natural it seemed for him to hold her by the waist. Not like he was rescuing her but rather like they were dancing in mid air.

"The Construct," Clark concluded grimly. "Lex was right, it didn't take him long to find us."

"Why attack us like us this?" Lois asked, her head still whirling from the whole incident. "In the open, not exactly _subtle_ is he."

Clark had a rough idea why it had done this, "he wants me to know that he knows who to hurt you Lois, that he knows how to get to me."

This part Lois didn't miss, being the bait for Clark Kent. However, like with all the ordeals in her life, she recovered quickly. Looking down, she saw they had stopped ascending but were hanging above the street. "Clark put me down, we're drawing a crowd."

"Because the truck falling on us didn't?" He looked at her innocently.

Lois almost smiled, a slight blush filling her cheeks. He was still the only man who knew how to take her crap without flinching. Oddly enough, it had nothing to do with being invulnerable and why she had loved him so much.

"Very funny. Put me down." She ordered.

"Sure," Clark said and descended, a small crowd of people swarmed in immediately, cheering and clapping at the rescue, not to mention displaying all kinds of wonder. Police cars were appearing, not to mention fire trucks to put out the fire and contain the traffic chaos caused by the accident or better yet, the rather dramatic message from the Construct. Clearly, it did not approve of them talking to Lex. Once again, Clark was more convinced than ever that Lex was the key to all this.

They had to talk to Lionel Luthor.

Reaching the ground, they were soon swamped by people who wanted autographs and hurled all kinds of questions at him. "I'm sorry folks, I'd like to stay and answer your questions but I need to be elsewhere now," he spoke.

Lois watched him, reminded of how Jonathan Kent used to address the crowds when he had been campaigning for State Senator. Like his adopted father, Clark used the charismatic yet honest charm to good effect. As he spoke to the crowd, she noted the way they admired him., looking captivated as if something amazing was walking amongst them. A god among men, she thought again. Even the cops weren't rushing in but acknowledging Superman like he was some force of nature.

"Superman," Lois said quickly, "can you tell us how this happened?" She asked, remembering that this was a story. Perry would want something quotable. "You saved my life and I thank you but did you see how this happened?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, playing the part with her. "Clearly this is an unusual occurrence and I'm sure our local authorities will get to the bottom of this. I'm grateful that I was around to help, Miss Lane," he released his hold of her waist and stepped away from her and Lois realised that she was still in his arms. "Until next time. _Do_ stay out of trouble." He winked before flying into the air, his cape billowing.

Lois watched him soar, a streak of blue and red that moved across the sky like a comet. It never got old watching him to do that and she did so wearing a little smile on her face. When Lois came back to Earth (so to speak), she noted that every female in the street was staring at her with a mixture of awe and envy.

God, they were never going to stop calling her Superman's Girlfriend.

Starbuck.

Sitting in his bunk, Lex studied the photograph he had paid a private investigator to take. It took him months to save his allowance to be able to afford one but Lex was determined to have some connection to his family. He studied the image of mother and child, using the photos to keep alive the spirit he feared would die in this place. There were moments when he thought it wouldn't be enough, that he would finally break as they expected him to. However salvation had came today, from the unlikeliest of places; Lois Lane.

His daughter liked pink doughnuts and fairy wallpaper. She watched Barney and a nickname called Starbuck. It was as if for a few precious seconds, Lex experienced freedom without needing to leave his cell. He wanted so badly to be with Lana and Laura, he couldn't think straight and yet he knew the morsels fed to him by Lois, meant as a kindness would sustain him. If he could not believe in anything else, he believed Clark Kent would not let him languish in jail when he was innocent. Clark would save him.

It was Clark always did best.

"Luthor," McKendrick, one of the evening shift guards announced himself by tapping on the bars of his cell. "Warden wants to see you."

Lex looked up at the guard with surprise. "At this hour?" It was late, almost ten o'clock which was when curfew was up. A request to see him this late was unusual. Nevertheless if the warden wanted to see Lex, there was little he could do to protest the matter. Shown out of his cell by McKendrick, Lex made his second departure from the block escorted by a guard.

Less than five minutes later, Lex was shown into the Warden's office and but instead of finding a fat, corpulent little man with thick glasses and seemed like a candidate for sex crimes, he found another face from the past.

"Dad," Lex exclaimed with genuine shock, as he heard McKendrick close the door behind him, leaving him alone with his father in the warden's office.

Lionel Luthor was seated behind the desk, waiting patiently for Lex's arrival. The appearance of the younger Luthor did not cause him to stand.

"Hello Lex," he said coolly. "How have you been?"

"How have I been?" Lex stared at his father incredulously and almost laughed out loud. "After five years of ignoring my calls, speaking to me through your assistant, the charming Miss Graves, you want to know how I've _been?_"

It was so ludicrous, Lex barely able to believe that it was his father was asking him the question.

"Please sit down Lex," he instructed, "the Warden was kind enough to grant me this audience so we shouldn't waste any more time in each other's company than necessary. I hear you had visitors today."

It didn't surprise Lex that news of Clark and Lois' visit wouldn't filter back to his father. If nothing else, it confirmed Lex's suspicion that Lionel had been keeping an eye on him all these years, even if the man had disavowed Lex as his son. Lex lowered himself unto the chair and stared at his father from across the desk.

"I'm sure you already know who was here," Lex retorted. "So let's not waste each other's time and get to business, shall we?"

A smile crossed the man's face and he leaned forward. "I liked you Lex," he said grinning. "I always did. You were the most single minded human I'd ever encountered. You had so much potential. Pity."

Time seemed to slow as all the pieces came together in his mind like a terrible mosaic and suddenly, Lex Luthor began to understand.

"Jesus Christ," he shivered, "Fine."

"I'm afraid so," the man across from him shrugged before he began to morph and instead of his father, now was the man…no, not a man, but the _machine_ that had stolen the last five years of his life.

"My father?" Lex almost didn't want to ask but his gut was churning from a sickening realisation that would not stop until he knew the utter truth, however terrible it was.

"Dead." The Construct responded with callous indifference. "Five years now. I needed your company Lex and I knew that the only way to get it was to remove you from the equation. I discovered that Chloe was still investigating your Section 33.1 project and that just made it so much easier. You'd go to jail, I'd take your father's place running the Luthercorp and _no one_ would ever know the difference."

Lex wanted to tell himself that it was a lie but somehow, it made sense. It was almost beautiful in its symmetry. Of course, he should have seen it before this. His father was many things but even Lex had been shocked by Lionel's indifference to him ever since the arrest. Lionel would never have allowed a Luthor to see the inside of a prison if it could be avoided. Lionel would have made sure that Lana would never have been able to keep his grandchild from him. Laura was a Luthor and if there was one thing that Lex knew about his father, family was _everything._

"You bastard!" He lunged over the desk for the second time today and for the second time, he was halted by a Kryptonian's strength, except the Construct was nowhere that gentle. Lex felt himself slammed against the desk hard, the vice like grip of the enemy wrapped around his windpipe holding him in place. "I will destroy you for this! You and your f**king Zod! I swear, you'll never be free of me!"

"Prison has certainly taken the polish off you hasn't it?" The Construct sneered, unimpressed. "I wouldn't concern yourself Lex. By the time I am done with you, the only thing Krypton will mean to you is a noble gas."


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER EIGHT: FLYING

Lois Lane could feel him.

Slipping out silently through the balcony doors, Lois stepped out unto the small patio that overlooked the city. From this high up, the wind always greeted her, caressing her skin the way flying with him used to feel. She had knew guiltily that part of the reason she took the apartment at all in the first place was the desire to cling to some fragments of how he used to make her feel. Of course, she couldn't tell this to anyone at the time. He had gone and Chloe was dead. The greatest secret of the century was locked inside her heart and she had never been able to share it with anyone.

They parted company after returning to the Daily Planet. Clark had come stumbling out of the rubble shortly after Superman had taken his leave, claiming that the man of steel had rescued him first and then left him a place of safety before rescuing Lois. The excuse held and everyone bought the story without much fanfare. Lois should have been surprised that they'd accept such a lame excuse but then people also believed in Fengshui. Go figure.

At the Planet, they got to the business of actually writing the story and Lois had to confess, Clark was pretty good. She remembered he had been a decent writer from the days at the Torch until he joined the football team and became star quarterback instead of reporter. She was glad he picked it up again and it seemed the years away had improved the skill. Clark, had a sharp, punchy pro-style that drew in a reader and Lois supposed as writing partners went, Perry could have stuck with someone really bad.

The article written by Lane and Kent headlined the evening edition with a picture someone had managed to snap with their cell phone of yet another Superman rescue of Lois Lane.

By then time the papers hit the newsstand, Lois had taken herself home, needing a shower and some fresh clothes. Being rescued by a man of steel did not prevent her from being with soot, dirt and concrete dust and Lois needed time to think and some breathing room to forget about Clark and Superman for a little bit.

Of course, this was easier said than done when the television was still broadcasting images of Superman whenever possible. When she surfed the channels after a long bath, the television revealed nothing but Superman on the news. It seemed Clark's evening had been more productive than hers. Robberies foiled, accidents prevented, fire put out and even a claim that he had helped some child's cat out of a tree. Lois found herself watching, laughing at some of it because it was just so Clark. One cable channel was even carrying out a 'Superman watch'.

Finally Lois decided that if she wanted to hear nothing of the subject of Superman, she'd have to move to Outer Mongolia.

~~~~~~

Lois could feel herself caving.

It was just too hard not too. Her anger was real and it still hurt to think about how he had just left her and there was quite a bit of hostility in her about that but it was becoming harder to deny that she didn't still love him. Even when he wasn't present, she could feel him. It was ludicrous of course, some fanciful idea left over from too many romance novels in her youth but Lois swore it was the truth. Every time she heard the wind or see curtains billowing on an open window, she always felt her heart flutter with hope that he had come back.

It was a hard thing to find destiny and lose it.  
Now she realise it had never really been lost but had merely taken a pause.

Five years pining for him, unable to connect to any other man because everyone that came her way was held up to a standard they could never possibly live up to. Lois had become comfortable with her existence, with being alone but now Clark was back and nothing seemed real anymore. None of the truths she had told herself these past five years seemed to hold. Every time she looked at him, it was just another chip at the wall around her heart. She wondered why she was fighting it so hard.

The world saw him as a god but Lois had always loved the man.

She stared into the night, watching the stars, wondering where he was when she heard the whisper of curtains behind her and found herself smiling as she turned around.

"I knew it," she said with a small smirk, "I knew you were watching."

Clark stood behind her, in costume, greeting the smile with one of his own. "I was worried about you. After what happened today…"

"You are a jerk." She said abruptly.

Clark met her gaze with a raised brow. 'What?"

"You heard me," she walked towards him and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You are a jerk."

Somewhat confused, he decided the best thing to do with Lois when she was like this was to just agree. "Okay, no contest there."

"You are!" She exclaimed with exasperation. "Do you have any idea what you put me through the last five years? I mean I knew you were off somewhere training but you could have told me! I mean I should have some say in it? You were my Jonathan! You weren't supposed to just run off on me!"

Okay, now he was confused. "I'm your Jonathan?" She had to be talking about his father of course but Clark was still puzzled by the context.

"Yes!" she threw her hands up in the air, rolling her eyes in frustration. "You were my Jonathan. Your mom told me once that I had to put with all the crappy relationships just so I could meet someone amazing, like she met your dad, her Jonathan. You were mine."

"Oh," Clark tried not to smile, wishing he had been using his super hearing to listen in on that conversation. Of course Lois and his mother had always been close. Martha had never come out and said it when he got back but he knew when his mother was upset at him and she had not been pleased at how he had left things with Lois. "I'm sorry, Lois. You're right."

"Don't just say that because you're know I'm right," Lois snorted.

Fiery and irrational, Clark thought to himself. How he had missed that.

"Of course," Clark nodded, playing pitched perfect the boyfriend who was utterly comfortable with his lover's unpredictable manner.

Lois stared at him. "You are a jerk." She repeated.

"I'm a jerk," he agreed. "But I still love you."

"Yeah you say that," she retorted, still on a ranting high. "You come back after five years, when I'll all comfortable with becoming an old maid, got a pretty good rep in this town as a investigative journalist, one I got working alone mind you and the next thing I know, I have a partner, these _feelings_ that confuse the hell out of me and everybody in town thinks I'm Superman's girlfriend! Do you know how many times Warrior Angel's girlfriend get tossed out of moving cars, kidnapped by Doctor Destructo or gets turned into a Weirdzilla version of herself to get to him? You might as well have painted a big fat target on my ass!"

Clark listened to her, watching her tirade. There were women who managed to look nothing but shrewish when raging like this but Lois had always managed to appear nothing less than magnificent. Without possessing super powers, she was a force of nature that always left him in awe. He often wished he had her passion, her ability to stand defiantly against things when the odds were impossible or the world wasn't ready to listen.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll keep my eye on it." He smirked.

"Oh you're funny, like a man in _that_ outfit has any reason to joke." She snorted sarcastically as she turned her back on him.

Sensing a possible thaw, Clark hovered behind her, placing both hands on her waist, waiting to see if she would draw away. She didn't.

"You're still in trouble with me, you know." Lois grumbled but still closed her eyes when she felt his breath on the back of her neck. Did she ever stand a real chance of resisting him? Lois liked to think so but the truth was plain even if she had trouble admitting it. She loved him. She had never stopped.

Clark didn't press, aware from the tone of her voice that she was coming to grips with how she still felt about him. She'd persist in her ambivalence of course, because she was Lois Lane and Lois Lane was incapable of giving up anything without a fight. However he could see she was accepting his return to her life and what that meant for the future. Understandably, she needed time. Clark was willing to afford her that courtesy.

He owed her after all.

"I know," he said without argument and then added softly, his voice little more than a whisper in her ear. "Fly with me Lois. Just the two of us, no cameras and no world watching. You and me, like we used to."

Lois blinked slowly and turned around, her arms sliding over his shoulders and around his neck, hazel eyes filling his like it was all the light in the world.

"I thought you'd never ask." She answered just as softly.

No sooner than she had spoken, Lois heard wind blowing in her ears, almost like the world was letting out a soft, wistful sigh as they lifted off the balcony, leaving the tiled floor beneath them. Like smoke rising into the air, they ascended slowly, passing the private worlds of other peoples, revealed behind every window. Until he roof top was beneath them, shrinking into a column of sparkling steel against and iridescent sky. If she had thought the city was beautiful from her balcony, it could not compare to the canvas of diamond glitter that lay before her now.

Revelling at the sensation of just being with her, Clark took them away from the air above her apartment building, gliding languidly forward over her neighbourhood. It didn't matter where they were going, only that she was him and for awhile at least, his sins were forgotten. He wasn't foolish enough to think that her hurt had diminished and inwardly, Clark promised himself that he would spend a lifetime making it up to her. Whatever happened, he would never leave her again.

They flew across the urban glitter, reaching the ocean where the air became heavy with salt and gulls flew by them, squawking with momentarily puzzlement before continuing on journeys of their own. He watched her laugh, heard her intake of breath when she saw something beautiful that touched her, felt her draw closer to him when the air grew cold, surprising himself with the realisation that his training had allowed him to see galaxies and still nothing compared to being with her like.

They rarely spoke during these flights together, even back in Smallville. There was something terribly intimate about the moment, something that transcended speech. Everything they needed to say each other could be conveyed with a look or a smile. What need was there of speech when each time she flew with him, it was her life she was putting in his hands. There were no words written that could truly express her faith in him each time she willing stepped off the edge and trusted that he would not let her fall.

Lois had forgotten how wonderful it felt to fly with him.

When she was like this, the hard edged reporter disappeared and the woman she wished she could be all the time appeared, vulnerable and unafraid to need. He was the only man she ever felt safe with, long before she ever heard of Krypton. Even before she knew he was extraordinary, he had occupied a place in her heart she never did understand. Only with him, could be she herself and not be embarrassed or fearful that her emotions would be perceived as weak. Finding out about his abilities had made her not just respect him but admire him for what he tried to do. That idealism she too often mocked was the best thing about him and now, as Superman, the world was sharing in same sense of hope.

His birthright had made him an outsider. Her love for him had made him a man but destiny had made him a hero.

*************

When they finally returned to her balcony, it didn't feel like hours but only minutes had passed. Setting her down, Clark gazed into Lois' eyes and knew that she was as overwhelmed as he by how powerfully they affected each other. Even after all this time.

"I should go," he said after a long pause.

Lois nodded, unable to think of what else to say.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow," Clark took a step back, thinking it would feel surreal to sit a few desks away from her in the newsroom of the Daily Planet after a night together like this.

"Bright and early," she said regrouping. "I'll try and get an appointment with Lionel."

"Yeah," Clark nodded and turned away, his cape swirling around him like a wave of red.

Lois watched him prepare to fly off when suddenly she called out. "Wait!"

Clark paused and started to turn around when she came to him, arms wrapping around his neck to pull him close. Her lips pressed against his and Clark felt his breath catch by how exquisitely she tasted just like he remembered. He reacted to her immediately for Clark had no power when it came to Lois. A rush of desire he could feel to his very soul overcame him and he was kissing her back, his tongue sliding into the invitation of her parting lips, duelling heatedly with her own. For a few minutes, their world had contracted into the singularity of the kiss, where neither thought nor time had any place. It lasted for as long as it would last, until they had drained each other of their need and finally pulled a part.

There could be so much more but upon mutual agreement unspoken, Clark realised this was enough for now.

"Good night," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"Good night," Lois whispered back, "Smallville."

He was innocent.

He woke up every day with that thought in his mind, refusing to let it go, no matter how many people stared at him like he was still insane to keep up the charade after five years inside. He kept it in his mind, like a mantra, with each letter he wrote to Lana that was returned, with each new appeal that reached its inevitable conclusion with denial. Lex knew he was innocent of killing Chloe Sullivan.

There were many things that he was guilty of, some too atrocious to name and had he been incarcerated for those, he would have accepted it because that was the risk one took when one played dangerous games. However, in the death of his wife's best friend, he refused to accept it. At times Lex wondered if this was a bad dream, some nightmare scenario devised by a chemical concoction at Bellevue Sanatorium. Then he'd wake up to the stench of urine and the snores of the man in the bunk above him and know that all of it was real. He'd lay awake for most of the night, fighting the urge to weep in the dark for that was the refuge of prisoners unable to hide from themselves, unable to hide from the truth.

Sometimes, he'd stare at the picture of the little girl with the dark hair and his mother's eyes and tried to vanquish the ache that gnawed at him, knowing that she had no idea who he was. All his life, he had wanted a family, not the dysfunctional, manipulative entity that Lionel Luthor had fostered but a _real_ family, where a husband and wife loved each other and the children they created. He didn't blame Lana for her actions, for taking his daughter away from him. Even though she had never answered, Lex kept his letters true to the affection in his heart, he still loved her and he still wanted to be apart of her life and that of their daughters.

The unfairness of it was more than he could stand at times.

"Luthor," he heard his name being called as he looked at the slop on his tray that passed for breakfast. Looking up, the guard McKendrick glared at him impatiently, "you've got a visitor."

Even though Clark Kent was yet to come down from the euphoria of the previous night, he felt compelled to come here alone without Lois. In retrospect, Lex's words had made him realise how unfair he had been to the people in his life, even before he left for a five year exile. Lex's grief at being parted from his daughter for his wrongful imprisonment had been the only thing that could douse the happiness Clark felt right now. Clark decided that in the same manner that Lois had always trusted him, it was high time he offered that same leap of faith to Lex Luthor.

Lex had tried to be his friend. Despite everything that came later, Clark knew that the attempt had been real. Lex had needed their friendship to anchor him and Clark had failed him in more ways than any Kryptonian would care to admit. Whatever dark path Lex had eventually found himself, Clark had done plenty to ensure Lex had found it. Perhaps not all of Lex's choices were his doing but there could not be any denying the damage his lies had inflicted upon their friendship and ultimately on Lex Luthor's soul.

If nothing else, Clark wanted to say he was sorry.

Once again in the interview room surrounded by bars, Clark waited for Lex Luthor to appear, wondering what he would say to the man that could possibly make up for all the lies and deceptions. Not to mention the five years he had spent in this place, separated from his family because Clark had decided to abandon all that he knew because of his guilt. How could Clark face Lana one day and tell her that she had abandoned Lex on a false belief? How could he look at the little girl and know that he was the reason she had no father?

Once again, he saw Lex appear before he actually arrived at the cell and Clark took a deep breath, bracing himself for Lex's hostility. Even though he was invulnerable, Lex always had a way with words that was capable of drawing blood when the mood took him. Verbal sparring was something he was never good at because Clark didn't know how to be cruel. Not unless infused with red kryptonite that is.

Lex looked through the bars at Clark and raised a brow.

"My God," he exclaimed. "How long has it been?"

Clark rolled his eyes as the guard opened the cell door and delivered Lex to his visitor. The inmate stared at him with astonishment Clark didn't understand before Lex lowered himself into the chair facing him.

"Very funny Lex," Clark retorted once the guard had retreated and left them alone a bit. "Your sense of humour was always on the edge of good taste."

"I'm surprised you remembered," Lex continued to stare at him. "How long has it been?"

"How long has it _been? _" Clark stared at him unamused. "I know the days are supposed to be long in prison Lex, but I'm sure it would take more than 24 hours before your memory started fading."

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Lex looked at him as if he had grown a second head or came from Krypton. "It is Clark Kent, right?"

"_Of course_ it's Clark Kent," Clark was starting to get annoyed. Like Lois, Lex seemed to find new levels of creativity when it came to annoying him. "We just talked yesterday."

"I seriously doubt that," Lex balked at the suggestion. "I haven't seen you since Smallville."

For a moment, Clark thought Lex was playing one of his games but the confusion and puzzlement in Lex's eyes did not seemed manufactured. Lex had been a consummate actor when the need demanded and it had taken time for Clark to see through his façades but see through it he did and this time there was no sign of deception in the man's eyes. A very uneasy feeling began to seep into Clark's bones at that moment and almost fearing to ask, Clark spoke. "When Lex? When was the last time you saw me in Smallville?"

Still wearing that expression of disbelief, Lex replied, "After I bought you that truck for saving my life."

_Jesus Christ. _

"Lex, that was almost 12 years ago," Clark blurted out. "That's the last time you remembered seeing me?"

Lex seemed to lapse into thought for a moment, appearing as if he were a man having a very odd day. "Wait," he said after a few seconds of consideration. "I do remember…"

"You do?" Clark stared at him, perhaps Lex was joking after all. The man was the best liar he had ever met. Maybe he was being an ass and trying to get to Clark for in some juvenile fashion.

"Yeah you were at my wedding," Lex answered. "I always thought it was funny that Lana wanted to invite her old boyfriend but if that's what she wanted…"

"Lex, what does the Kawatche caves mean to you?" Clark demanded, becoming more desperate, realising that while he had been with Lois last night, he had left Lex unprotected, just as he had left Chloe defenceless and now, now it seemed as if the Construct had managed to destroy yet another one of his friends.

"Clark I don't what this is about," Lex started to stand up, "but its cease to be amusing."

"What does it mean, Lex!" Clark almost shouted, bring the guard forward again.

"I don't know!" Lex retorted just as sharply, "Weren't they some caves in Smallville?"

Clark closed his eyes, feeling his jaw tighten and his stomach hollow with despair because Lex Luthor stared at him and didn't see a friend or a rival.

He saw a stranger.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER NINE: INVESTIGATIONS

Despite what had transpired between the night before, Lois was still determined to project an image of complete professionalism while working with Clark Kent the reporter. Her early career had been a struggle to gain credibility. Oddly enough, people who started working at the National Inquisitor didn't always find their way to the top of the food chain at Daily Planet. Lois had to overcome a great deal of prejudice when she first joined the Planet. Therefore she was not at all eager to dismantle all her hard work by allowing her colleagues to see that she was hooking up with the first rookie that Perry partnered her with.

Arriving at her desk the next morning, she noted the Clark wasn't at his desk and surmised he must be doing 'Superman' stuff. It was astonishing to her how quickly that word was becoming a part of every day vernacular. This morning on her way to work that was all she seemed to hear being discussed. Superman. Was he real? Where was the planet Krypton? How could someone who looked so human be so strong? Children were running around with red sheets and towels tied around their necks while vendors on street corners were selling Superman merchandise. The family crest for the House of El was being stamped on stickers, dolls, hats and t-shirts.

Lois doubted that Clark could have foreseen the S-shield was becoming as popular as the smiley face.

It was fascinating really. By the time she arrived at her desk, Lois was seriously considering writing a story about Superman's effect on the social consciousness. Although she had insight into the persona of Superman that would never see the light of print, Lois felt that she could write a Superman story that wasn't at all sensationalist like the others seeing print right now. In any case, she and Clark had a more important story to work on right now; the freedom of Lex Luthor. While she felt guilty that an innocent man had been separated from his freedom for the last five years, Lois' found her thoughts centred mostly on that apartment above the Talon where Lana Lang brought frosted pink doughnuts to her little girl

She owed it, not to Lex to uncover the truth but also Lana Lang and her daughter.

"Hey Lois," Jimmy said coming to her desk, "Looks like Superman came to your rescue _again. _" He pointed out furtively.

Lois rolled her eyes. Honestly, the guy was her best friend but he just had no talent for subterfuge. This was why Lois never took him undercover.

"Yes he did," Lois retorted, unloading her handbag of her phone and a few other necessities she liked to keep on her desk for the day, including her lucky Troll Doll. "I'm thinking of taking out a restraining order," she said distractedly.

"Lois!" Jimmy exclaimed. "Come on," he said in a soft voice. "Give the guy a break, I mean he's done everything but grovel that he's sorry about what he did and you have to admit, saving your life is a pretty good reason to forgive him……Ow…ow….ow Lois that hurts!"

Lois kept his earlobe firmly pinched between her fingers, "Jimmy, don't make me get surly on you." She glared continuing maintain her grip. "You know that 'you know who and I have some issues to resolve and while grovelling is definitely required, _that_ is something that should not be discussed here." She scolded before finally letting him go.

"Okay, okay," Jimmy winced rubbing his ear. "You know you turn me on when you do that."

Lois groaned in exasperation. "Why do I let my sister date you?" She gave him a look.

"Because I'm handsome and desperate?" Jimmy gave her a smirk of mischief.

"Oh that _must_ be it," she shook her head, a look that James Olsen knew to be a sign that Lois was washing her hands of him.

Suddenly, his attention shifted to the main doors to the newsroom and threw her a sly glance. "Let the grovelling commence," he said quietly and was hit with by a crumpled post-it note for his trouble.

Lois shot Jimmy a glare before shifting her gaze to Clark when suddenly; the look of him made drove the playful banter she had been enjoying with Jimmy out of her mind. If the situation had been different, it might have irritated Lois just how quickly she was able to recognise the shadow across Clark's face as he entered the newsroom. As it was, the only thing she could think of what was had put that haunted expression there to begin with. Rising to her feet, she gave Jimmy a look that told him to cover for her and stood up, facing Clark before her eyes touched the ceiling briefly enough for him to understand her meaning.

Clark said nothing, recognising the signal easily. He turned on his heels and went out the way he came. Fortunately, the hustle and bustle of the newsroom allowed this behaviour to go about unnoticed and people were more than accustomed to seeing Lois Lane hurrying out of the room without explanation, usually on the heels of a hot story.

A few minutes later, they were facing each other on the roof and the question that Lois had been bursting to ask all the way up the elevator, where they were surrounded by other people finally exploded from her

"What is it?" She asked as she saw Clark drift to the edge and stare across the city, like a man needing to catch his breath and recover from some terrible news. "What's happened?" She demanded almost afraid to ask.

"Its Lex," Clark spoke after a moment, unable to dispel the sickening feeling in his stomach that had followed him all the way from the prison. "I went to see him this morning," he revealed, still facing the urban sprawl surrounding the planet. "I don't know I guess I wanted to tell him that he was right, that I should have trusted him. All he ever wanted was my friendship and trust but I could never give it to him. I wanted to say I was sorry, that our friendship _did_ matter."

These were painful things he was recounting to her. Despite all the anguish of the past five years and even after last night, what he had done could not be easily forgiven and such were the sins he would have to bear. She made up her mind last night that she loved him and she would try to understand what he done but she had no idea what to say to him here. She could not absolve him, only Lex could.

Still it wasn't in her to give up without trying. Especially when it seemed like his torment had to do with more than just a confession to Lex about the mistakes of their mutual past.

"Smallville," she used that familiar nickname as a first step to healing, "you did what you had to do…"

Clark blinked slowly and replied, "Lois he doesn't remember anything."

"What?" she exclaimed.

"He doesn't remember _anything_," Clark repeated himself slowly. "The Construct erased his memories. It got to him in prison last night and took everything he knew about me, Krypton, our friendship, everything for the last 12 years."

"Are you sure?" She asked mostly out of horrified astonishment. Of course Clark was sure. He would not be so anguished otherwise. "What about Lana and his daughter, prison, Section 33.1…." she stammered a response.

"He remembers Section 33.1 as far as experimenting on meteor freaks but anything to do with Krypton and me is gone. As far as he knows, I'm Lana's old boyfriend and I saved his life a couple of years ago. Other than that, he has no memory of who I really am."

Lois didn't know whether or not she ought to be horrified or grateful at hearing the extent of Lex's mindwipe. Although she would not voice it to Clark, there was an advantage in having Clark's Kryptonian heritage kept a secret from Lex Luthor. If they did prove he was innocent and Lex was freed, it was a powerful secret that Lex would be privy to. Lois wasn't entirely sure she would want Lex to have that kind of power over Clark.

Clark would never think of such things because his grief came from something much kinder but Lois felt it was up to her to be the cynic for both of them.

"That damn Construct," he hissed angrily, "It took Chloe from me and now its taken Lex too!" Clark could feel the rage build up in him until he wanted to smash something into a thousand pieces in sheer fury.

"Clark I'm so sorry," Lois said placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We'll find it and we'll stop it." Her heart ached to see his sorrow. Five years had changed none of the effect of it upon her. She was accustomed to being strong for him and old habits were hard to break. Reaching for his cheek, Lois made him look at her and when Clark turned to meet her eyes, she saw the moisture in his.

"He was my friend Lois," Clark whispered, "I was never there for him when it mattered, not then and not now. Lex asked me not to give up on him but I was so jealous by the possibility he could give Lana something I couldn't that I let him drift. Now he's lost forever."

"No," Lois said firmly, "he's not. Okay, he doesn't remember you but he's _not_ lost. He's got a wife and child waiting for him. We have to focus and get him out of there. We both owe him that."

That part was the truth at least.

Pulling him to her, Lois held him close, wondering what it was about this man needing her that made her feel so complete. It was so easy to forget that even if he could carry the world on his shoulder and possessed a heart just as big, Clark Kent hurt like anyone else, sometimes more because he cared so much. She always felt the need to protect him for that, to keep the world's ugliness from tainting the hope he saw in other people, even when they themselves didn't see it.

***************

A short time later, they were back in the newsroom. Clark had pulled himself together with Lois' help and showed no signs of his earlier distress. If nothing else, Lois rather marvelled at how he was able to slip into character when required. She shouldn't have been surprised. Clark had been wearing masks at one time or another during his life. Just because they weren't the literal kind didn't make them any less effective. Once Clark dealt with his anguish over Lex's mind rape, he focussed himself on finding the Construct with an intensity that channelled his outrage somewhat.

Commandeering the conference room where Perry held his bullpen meetings for the entire staff, Lois, Clark and Jimmy sat around the large table, pooling their resources. Once Jimmy learnt what they had been working on, he insisted on being apart of it. Although he and Chloe had not been a couple for quite some time before her death, Jimmy still grieved for her. More so now that he was privy to the secret that she had been forced to keep from him at the cost of their relationship.

"Well I guess Lex is a dead end now," Lois sighed, noticing Clark's jaw tighten at the statement. "Sorry Smallville," she cast him a look of apology.

"It's okay Lois," Clark replied, unable to deny that piece of truth. "You're not wrong, we can't rely on Lex for information. The Construct's made sure he's not talking."

"What is it this thing is so determined to keep a secret, CK?" Jimmy spoke out loud once he had been filled in.

"I have no idea," Clark shrugged. "I always thought it was about Zod. That's all the Construct's energies seemed to be focussed on. Getting Zod out of the Phantom Zone."

Jimmy was still finding this all a bit surreal but then the reason Lois had invited him into this discussion was so they could get a fresh perspective. "We sure about that?"

Clark stared at him, "Its programming wouldn't let it do anything else," he insisted.

"I'm convinced that it's still about Zod," Lois retorted, throwing her weight behind Clark's assertion. "Computers just don't change programming. I mean sure this one is an upgrade up from your usual Windows PC but it's still a machine."

"I just can't believe a machine would go to the trouble to kill Chloe to frame Lex," Jimmy retorted, doodling the 'S' shield on a pad much to Clark's chagrin. "I mean if it could impersonate anyone, why not someone closer to home, like Lionel or maybe even Lana. You think a machine would decide to go for speed, not conspiracies."

Clark didn't even want to go down that road. "It wouldn't make sense to kill Lana... they were happily married with a baby."

"Okay, Lionel then," Jimmy moved on quickly. "Oldest story in the book, dad teaches boy to run company, boy grows up, kills dad for company. I mean they would have arrested him in a minute. If getting Lex out of the way was the point, why not take out Lionel? It took weeks for them to find Chloe."

Clark didn't like to think of it but Jimmy's rather impersonal commentary did make him think. Clark had searched everywhere for Chloe when she disappeared but the Construct had ensured that she wasn't found for some time. If it was simply to remove Lex, why take such trouble to dispose of the body? Why did it need time before Lex's arrest? What had it been preparing for?

"Well it made sense," Lois replied but like Clark, she too was thinking. "I mean Chloe was investigating Lex and Section 33.1."

"Yeah but she's been after Lex for years about that," Jimmy pointed out. "I'm just kind of surprised that of all the potential targets the Construct came up with to frame Lex, he picked Chloe." He finished off by reaching for his cup of coffee and downing it.

Lois stared at Jimmy, her mind moving faster than a locomotive as other thoughts began to fill her head. Chloe was pretty closed mouth about her stories after Lois went to work on the Inquisitor, which was fair enough because they always had a friendly rivalry going. After she died, Lois had inherited all of her notes and papers from the Planet since Uncle Gabe couldn't bring himself to clear out her desk and left that task to Lois. She herself had barely been able to keep it together when she cleared out her cousin's desk but she never actually looked at any of those notes or even Chloe's beloved laptop. It was still sitting in a box in the closet.

"Lois…" Clark noted her faraway expression.

"Clark, we don't know for sure that she was working on a Section 33.1 story," Lois met his gaze. "I got the information that she was looking into it _after_ her death."

"So we don't know what Chloe was working on when she died?" Jimmy stared at the two of them.

"Not really," Lois explained, "She disappeared and Clark started looking everywhere for her. We rang the police and I called and spoke to Perry for the first time. He'd told me she'd been assigned to some toxic dumping story in Smallville. Something about pollutants in the water coming from the Smallville dam. It wasn't supposed to be a high risk assignment. Perry figured it was local fertilizer plant or something dumping chemicals."

"I remember," Clark nodded, also recalling the futility of searching everywhere for Chloe and finding nothing, never believing for one moment that it was already too late.

"So how did she go from toxic waste to Section 33.1?" Jimmy declared.

"Wait," Lois remembered something important then, something from the day before. "Remember what Lex said yesterday?"

Clark looked at Lois for a moment, recounting what Lex had told them before reaching the same deduction. "Yeah, Lex said there was some kind of mishap at the Section 33.1 facility at the Smallville dam. Some structural failure caused by Dark Thursday."

"Oh that can't be a coincidence," Jimmy looked at them both. "Maybe Chloe stumbled right into what the Construct was doing and was killed because of it."

"Yeah to cover it up," Lois followed the train of thought, "he impersonated Lex, told her to come to the mansion and killed her there while Lex was on the road."

"I can't see Lois going to the mansion if Lex asked her," Clark countered, "she knows better."

"Well if this thing can be anyone," Jimmy suggested, "why not Lana?"

"Oh damn," Lois realised how easy it was for Chloe to have been duped. "Yeah she'd go for Lana and she wouldn't tell you."

"But we were dating then," Clark insisted, hating to think that Chloe could have been led to her death out of some misguided attempt to spare his feelings about Lana Lang. He had gotten over Lana well and truly by then.

"Right," Lois rolled her eyes. "And you were just so easy to talk to on the subject of Lex Luthor and Lana Lang." She reminded.

"You were kind of obsessed back then CK." Jimmy added.

"Okay, okay," Clark grumbled, agreeing to disagree for the sake of the discussion. "Point taken."

"Clark, you need to get to that dam," Lois said firmly. "You need to run your super peepers over the place and see if the Construct is hiding something there. Maybe that's its hideout or something."

"I'm not going anyway without you," Clark retorted and before she could protest, added. "The Construct mind wiped Lex last night Lois. I'm not taking any chances, if we go to Smallville. It will be together."

"Well you two go poking around the Smallville dam and you're going to bring the T1000 to you for sure."

"Maybe that's not a bad idea," Clark replied tautly. The Construct had caused enough grief in his life that Clark wanted a shot at stopping it permanently. Even if it meant using himself and Lois as bait to draw it out. Better if it showed its face then allow it to move about covertly, attacking his friends and stealing years of their memories.

"Smallville, I want you to kick the crap out of it as well but we need to play it smart," Lois spoke, reaching for his hand across the table and squeezing it in a show of support. "We need to find some evidence to prove Lex didn't kill Chloe. If we go charging in there, drawing the Construct out before we have a chance to investigate, Lex will pay the price."

Jimmy had an idea, "well maybe you two should stay right away from it for now. Chances are it's watching you two right? I mean it dropped a truck on you in broad daylight, it will figure out you're heading to Smallville. Let me go." He suggested.

"No way!"

"Forget it!"

Both Lois and Clark echoed their protest in unison.

"Oh you two don't sound _married_," Jimmy snorted sarcastically, drawing a look from both. "Look I'll go up there and check it out, bring my trusty camera along and take a couple of pictures like it's for some nature retrospective. The T1000 isn't going to give a damn, no pun intended, if I go and take a few snapshots. If will know something is up if you two go there."

Lois met Clark's gaze, "he might have a point."

He did have a point, Clark frowned hating to admit it. The Construct was probably expecting Clark's presence at some point and it probably had ways of detecting a Kryptonian life sign if there was something at the dam worth concealing.

"Alright," Clark finally conceded defeat, not liking this idea but accepting for the moment that this was the best course of action. "But you check in every half hour. If I don't hear from you, I'll be on my way and you _know_ just how fast I can get there."

"Scouts honour," Jimmy smirked with a hand over his chest. "Every half an hour."

"While he's doing that," Lois stood up from her chair, "you and I have to something to do as well."

"What?" Clark didn't like the idea of leaving Jimmy to do this alone but if Lois had another lead, then they had to follow it. Somehow, they had to weave through this tapestry of murder and subterfuge the Construct had spent five years creating.

"We're going to my apartment," Lois sighed not at all liking what came next. "Only one person can tell us what she was working on when she died and that's Chloe."


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER TEN: SURRENDER

While Jimmy drove to Smallville, Clark and Lois had made a discreet departure from the Planet, giving Perry the excuse that they were hunting for more Superman stories. Considering their success rate thus far and the fact that Lois wasn't in his office bitching about the fact that he had saddled her with a partner, Perry was happy to have them go. Anything that kept him from taking his ulcer pills for one day had to be enjoyed while it lasted.

Lois had kept the remnants of Chloe's professional life in a box marked with her name, pushed to the back of her closet. It was almost a metaphor of how Lois dealt with Chloe's death in real life as well, pushed to the back of her mind so she wouldn't have to deal with the loss. In five years, Lois had been unable to bring herself to look at any of her cousin's belongings. The idea was simply too painful for her. Even with Clark present, she wasn't looking forward to going through her cousin's things.

It was the first time he had been inside of Lois' apartment further than her balcony as Clark Kent and not Superman. While the apartment was very much Lois, he could tell by the lack of personal touches that Lois spent little time here. He knew from his observations of her prior to his return that she was something of a workaholic. It made sense he supposed, Lois had always found it easier to distract herself with work when confronted with emotions she couldn't cope with. The death of Chloe and his abrupt disappearance from her life would surely qualify.

After what had happened between them last night, it felt awkward for Lois to have Clark back in her apartment again. When he wore the suit, there was something about it that didn't seem real, like she was playing the part of damsel to his hero in some Warrior Angel fantasy. However, at this moment, he was standing before her as Clark Kent, the guy who used to bring her macchiatos, who made her think that plaid was sexy and had the annoying habit of drinking milk out of the carton. In the right now, he felt all too real and he was here.

"I kept Chloe's stuff in here," she announced walking towards the closet at the end of the hallway. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Clark taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeve, much in the way he'd used to do whenever he was getting ready to fix a tractor or something.

Clark noticed the change in Lois' manner the instant they entered her apartment and wondered at the reason for her discomfort. Last night, he believed they had made progress in mending their relationship. After all, _she_ had kissed him. Of course, he shouldn't always trust that Lois knew wanted. When had he ever been able to figure out Lois out when she was on a tangent? What attracted him to her so much was the fact that she could always surprise him.

The first time she had kissed him, Clark had never seen it coming. Lois had taken him completely by surprised even though the more he thought about it; the more it seemed that he had been in love with her long before his mind ever let him in on the fact.

"Lois, is everything okay?" Clark asked following her down the hall.

Lois stopped short upon hearing the question, letting out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding until she turned around and faced him.

"What do you mean Smallville?" She returned his question with one of her own, filled with soiled innocence.

"I don't know," he shrugged, recognising her attempt to be evasive. If nothing else, her reaction proved to him that there was something wrong. "You seemed a little preoccupied," Clark returned, leaning against the wall to watch her. "Would you rather I take a look at her stuff? If you're not comfortable doing it?"

He had said it to spare her because Clark's vision penetrated he door and he could see just how buried in clutter it was. The box hadn't just been stored away, it had been forgotten. Clark suspected Lois would have encased it in concrete if given a choice. Even though they were cousins, Lois was closer to Chloe than she was to her own sister Lucy.

In retrospect however, it was probably not the best suggestion to make to Lois.

"I can handle it fine!" She exclaimed hotly, never reacting well when someone pointed out her weaknesses. Lois knew that she was being petulant, that her discomfort had nothing to do with the box and everything to do with _him_. "I handled it fine five years ago remember? You're the one who left; I'm the one who stayed around to pick up the pieces." She spat back with more venom than she intended.

Clark let out a sigh, wondering how the hell they had gotten to this place. _Again._ "I know Lois," he replied, denying nothing. How could he? Nothing she said was a lie and Clark understood that her resentment at his departure would take time to diminish. "I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't handle it…"

"I can handle anything," she stormed up to him. "If I recall correctly, you're the one who couldn't handle it and left."

"Alright," he conceded defeat and decided a strategic withdrawal would be better since Lois was clearly upset about _something_. "Maybe I will leave you to do this alone," Clark retorted, deciding he was not going to get drawn into another argument about this. Something was up and she wasn't willing to talk about it. All his presence seemed to be doing was exacerbating the situation. Walking back down the hall, Clark decided to make himself scarce until she calmed down.

"Where are you going?" Lois asked, instantly feeling regret when she saw him retreat.

"I'm leaving you alone for awhile," he answered firmly with a hint annoyance, "me being here is upsetting you."

"Oh because leaving worked _so_ well the last time," she threw at him sarcastically, unable to stop herself.

Clark turned around and stared at her like a man resigned to his fate. "What do you want me to say Lois?" He asked her, confused as hell. "Do you want me to say I'm sorry? You know that I am. Do you want me to admit I was a coward for running out on you? No contest there, I know I was. I'm ashamed that I left you the way I did. I can only say sorry so many times. If you want me to say it again, I'll say it but if me being here is hurting you, then I'll go."

Lois stared at him, uncertain how to respond to that. Leave? _Again?_

No. She couldn't bear it.

"Don't you dare," she hissed, walking right up to him. "Don't you dare leave when things get hard."

"I'm not leaving because of that," Clark returned her imperious gaze, unflinching. "I'm leaving because I don't want to …."

He never got to finish the word because the next thing Clark Kent knew, Lois grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down towards her lips.

"Just shut up Smallville," she whispered and kissed him hard.

Once again, Lois took him by surprise.

At first Clark wasn't sure what had happened but it was puzzlement that faded away quickly. The intensity of the kiss drove any confusing out of his mind as her tongue slid past his lips and reminded him once again, why a kiss from Lois Lane was like a lightning bolt to the senses. When Clark finally responded to her touch, he wondered why he had even bother to debate the matter and tumbled headlong into the oblivion of her kiss. Returning her passion with similar ferocity, Clark slid his arm around her gloriously curved body and drew her to him closer.

What was she doing? Lois questioned herself when she felt his chest pressing against her and heard an inner voice snort. _You know exactly what you are doing. _

And she did. Even if she didn't want to admit it to herself, Lois knew what upon what she was embarking and what she was doing was claiming the man she loved.

Lois needed him. For five years she had ached for him, ached for his touch. She hadn't allowed herself a relationship since he left nor experienced physical intimacy with another because she was convinced she'd be disappointed. She knew it wouldn't be like it had been with Clark. Throwing herself into her work, Lois who in her youth saw herself as an untamed modern woman, had turned herself into a celibate workaholic because perfection was hard to find twice in a life time. Forcing away the part of her that questioned her actions, which sneered at her lack of willpower to keep him at bay, Lois gave into the only feeling that mattered now, elation.

Like a ship adrift and lost for so long, Lois was finally coming home.

Still clutching the lapels of his shirt and growing dizzy from how good it felt to have Clark pull her tighter against him, Lois released her grip and languidly slid her arms around his neck, her fingers running through his hair. Everything about him was as she remembered but there was also something new about him as well, something certain and powerful. He wasn't the awkward farm boy she had loved. He was Superman and it showed in every returning touch.

Clark questioned if this was the right thing to do, to simply surrender to her.

Unfortunately, it was never easy to form rational thought when Lois kissed him. From the very first, her ability to make him throw caution to the wind was without question. Unlike Lana with whom he agonized over his decision to reveal the truth, with Lois he had barely time to catch his breath before she knew everything. When they found each other, it was if the machinery of some cosmic design had finally shifted into place. Every hope he ever wished for himself was reflected in her eyes the first time she told him, she loved him.

Even though she had instigated this sudden thaw in their relationship, Clark's reaction to her tongue inside his mouth renewed his own desire for plunder. Before he knew it, he too was playing a hidden game of thrust and parry with their locked lips. He could feel her body against his, the soft, warm contact he had yearned since submitting to Jor-El for his training. Giving into what she was making him feel, Clark's kisses intensified and very soon, his mouth was sliding down her cheek, tasting the sweet flesh under her jaw, his hands holding her in place so she would not squirm away, terrified almost to let her go in case he was dreaming all this.

Lois had not intended this when she kissed him but now that she was here, she wanted nothing else. All those feelings returned like a tidal wave of sensation, eliciting shudders of pleasure throughout her body. Had she ever doubted he could still do this to her? His mouth on her neck unlocked her inhibitions and for the moment at least, their troubles seemed far away. All she cared about was the now as her fingers dropped back to his shirt and started undoing the buttons. She heard Clark's sharp intake of breath at the action and it made her smile.

It was nice to know she could still surprise someone who moved faster than a speeding bullet.

When she unbuttoned his shirt, her hands making contact with his chest, Clark wondered how it was possible that he could be invulnerable and yet notice every sensation that came from her fingers tips brushing against his skin. Realising where their passion was inevitably leading, Clark decided for once, he would not play it safe and give into the moment. He would deal with what came from this later. All he knew for certain was that he wanted her very badly and as Clark leaned over to scoop Lois up in his arms, his x-ray vision was already searching the walls of her apartment to find her bedroom.

"Lois," he whispered in her ear, still too much Clark Kent to throw caution entirely to the wind. Are you sure…?"

"You talk too much Smallville," was her husky response before she bit him gently on the neck and tugged his shirt free of his shoulders. Letting it drift to the floor behind them, Lois covered his biceps in warm, sensual kisses, banishing any more questions he had. Lois had forgotten what it was like to be with him, how beautiful he was. She breathed in deep the musk of his skin and faint tinge of cologne that made her inside melt with delicious heat.

It was all the protest he would give her before giving in completely. Even if he was blessed with enhanced strength, she would still weigh nothing in his arms as they stumbled through the bedroom door. Capturing her mouth again, he refused to give up the territory as he devoured her lips, taking every ounce of pleasure she would yield to him. All the while, he revelled in the sensation of Lois caressing his chest, before her finger raked across sensitized nipples to elicit a soft groan from him.

Lois was barely aware of moving through the rooms until he was stopped by the foot of her bed. Breaking free of him, she settled onto her knees and smiled at him coyly. Then she began to kiss her way down his chest, smiling because she wanted him so much, wanted him to remember what he had walked away from, wanted him to recall what their love making was like so he'd never leave her again. Down she went, still fully clothed as her closed her eyes and continued a sensual journey down the washboard hard muscles of his stomach, until she reached his belt buckle. She touched his eyes briefly with a sly and decidedly wicked look before resuming, nothing good on her mind.

Clark was mesmerized, his mind hurtled back to how terrified he had been the first time they made love, fearful that she'd expect him to become the dominating lover he was infected with red kryptonite. Once again, Lois had shattered those illusions, showing him just how much he had underestimated her. His eyes were smouldering blue embers as he watched her, feeling his heart skip a beat with building anticipation when she winked at him and gave him a smile full of damp, wet sin.

Belt buckle unfastened, Clark had only a second to appreciate the view of her kneeling before him before Clark Kent lost all ability to think.

"God….Lois," He uttered a soft moan when he felt her around him, using those warm, sweet lips, taking him so deeply that he barely uttered her name. _So deep_, the word surfaced almost unconsciously in his brain. He was already hard but by the time she reached the end of her journey, he was so aroused he could barely breathe.

Unable to do anything but run his fingers in her hair, Clark felt his jaw go slack with pleasure as he shuddered with sensation. Watching her, he saw her slid up and down his shaft, revisited with total recall, how perfectly she knew how to tease him. The urge to thrust was hard and in resisting, he uttered another strained groan. Unable to tear his gaze away, Clark watched her slid up and down his hardened flesh, bringing him closer to the brink then he dared to admit. His fingers running through her hair and seemed to inspire her more. Gritting his teeth, he tried to speak, to tell her to stop because it had been too long for him.

"Lois…" he nearly whimpered as he felt her slid down again and pulled back up hard.

Lois would have smiled if her lips weren't otherwise engaged. She was poised for that whimper, the one that told her when it was time to stop so he wouldn't be spent too soon. Releasing him from her lips with an audible pop, Lois crawled back up the bed, smiling in triumph. It was amazing. After all these years, it was so easy it was to make love to him again. How all little ways to tease him still remained in her memory.

Filled with near black lust by the time she released him, Clark was driven by a very base and male desire to possess her. Discarding his pants, he wasted no time in diving beneath the hem of her skirt, his fingers sliding up her thighs, relishing every perfect inch of skin until he hooked fingers around her panties and pulled. When they had begun their sexual relationship, one of the odd side effects of their lovemaking was a monthly visit to the lingerie store for Lois. No matter how much he tried, he just loved tearing the slips of lace off her body.

Tossing aside the scrap of pink lace, he raised his eyes to Lois and a small smirk of mischief crossed his face as he inhaled deeply the scent of her damp arousal. Bunching her skirt up around her waist, Clark gave Lois no quarter as he buried his face into her moist centre, washing the hardened bud with the tip of his tongue once he found it through the folds of tender flesh.

"Oh my God….Clark," Lois gasped his name with abandon.

God, was there anything sexier than hearing her cry like that? Clark asked himself as he continued his feasting.

Her legs were coiled around his shoulders, her fingers tugging at his dark hair. She said filthy things to him as he licked and suckled, nibbling and tasting every crevice and fold. Spurred on by the names she called him, it only made Clark more determined. As much as she liked to dominate in the bedroom, Lois also liked to have him take charge of her and the result was incredible sex that left them both panting and utterly spent. They had spent whole weekends like this after his mother had moved to Washington, in bed making love and coming up for air only for food. Tasting and exploring each other to the very end of their limits.

He could feel the tingle at the tip of her just before she came and just to push her over the edge, he continued the stimulation with his fingers as he whispered raunchily, "come for me Lois, come for me so I can taste you."

"Oh Christ Smallville!" Lois gasped as those words ripped her control to shreds and send her body into overdrive. Clark replaced his fingers with his mouth again and any self control Lois had left dissolved into the echo of his name as she screamed it in the throes of orgasm.

Riding high on that pleasured cry, Clark lapped her up with relish, pleased that five years apart had not changed one whit their sexual chemistry. It was as if she was made for him, everything about her, even to the scent of her when she came in his mouth, aroused him to the point of madness. Clark was so hard, he could barely think and hearing her call out his name was all the strain his resistance could endure. He needed her now.

Lois too was aware of how close he was and even though she was coming down from an orgasmic high, she knew how to return the favour. As he crawled up her body, she slid from under him and pushed his shoulder against the bed, rolling him over. Smiling, she threw one leg over his hips and was greeted with a ramrod hard column of flesh that was hypersensitive by the way he hissed at contact with her skin.

"Can I help you with that Smallville?" she teased as she removed the rest of her clothing, until she was perched on top of him naked.

"What do you think?" He asked basking in the sight of her glorious body. Leaning forward, he swiped a tongue over a peaked nipple.

Lois felt a shiver of excitement at the sensation of his tongue and at the sight of him. His lips were swollen from his efforts to bring her to orgasm, his chin damp with her juices. Straddling him, Lois drank in the view and decided once again, that he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. If they grew them all of them like this in Kansas or Krypton for that matter, every woman in America would either be invading the Heartland or taking the next space ship out of the galaxy.

"I don't think," she smirked at him. "I just do," and with that Lois impaled herself with his impressive length, watching the smile on his face melt into pure pleasure, his eyes closed, his lips parted as she slid over him like a glove, her muscles clenching tautly around his hard flesh.

Clark tried not to groan again but he couldn't help it. If he had thought her going down on him earlier was the height of pleasure, he was wrong. God, how could he have left her, how could he have left this? His thoughts fragmented at that moment and his hands unconsciously settled on her hips as she began to rock forward, riding him like a stallion. Lois always seemed to know how to make his body respond and he swore, no other woman had ever been able to make him more aware of his senses and more grateful for his masculinity.

Staring down at him, watching the expression of naked pleasure on his face, feeling those same dizzying sensations shuddering through her body, Lois finally accepted the reality that at last, Clark was back. Until this moment, there was a part of her that was terrified that she'd wake up and find out that everything until now had been fiction. A powerful rush of emotion filled her and she stopped moving, forcing him to open his eyes and look at her. With him still hard inside of her, Lois leaned forward, pausing an inch above his face to whisper.

"You hurt me," she stated softly, still staring at him.

Clark was not about to argue, not when he was in this position. At that moment, he would have agreed to _anything._

She hit him on the shoulder, her balled fist smacking lightly the flesh there before she spoke further. "Don't do it again."

Passion or not, he knew what it was she asked of him and with every fibre of his being, Clark swore he would not disappoint her again. His hands left her hips and slid up her back before pulling her down against him, until she had to shift her legs to stretch out against the length of his body, still buried deep inside her warmth. He rolled them over in one swift movement so he was looking down on her before Clark kissed her again, except this kiss was devoid of raunchy passion but filled instead with tender affection.

"I love you," Clark Kent whispered softly, his blue eyes fixed on hers so she'd understand. "I've never stopped loving you. When I was gone, the only thing I thought of was coming back to you. You've given me another chance Lois, I swear I'll die before I ever hurt you again."

Lois blinked and it surprised Clark to see tears in her eyes. She wasn't a woman who could show her tender, vulnerable side easily but Clark could see it clearly now.

"I love you," she whispered, blinking away the tears that rolled down her cheek, "I've never stopped either. I could never let you go, no matter how hard I tried. I'm sorry…"

"Shhhh," he stopped her from saying anything further because it really wasn't needed. He understood, he felt himself. Brushing the hair out of her eyes, Clark covered her face in kisses and began to move again, languidly, savouring every stroke in and out of her body. Clark watched her expression as ripples of pleasure moved through her body and his, feeling his own need for her heighten again, until they had built up to the strong, driving, pace of earlier.

"Don't stop Clark," he heard Lois beg beneath him and would have smiled if he weren't so overcome himself.

"Never," he grunted and moved faster, the clenching pressure around his shaft drove away everything else for the moment and he was slave to that incredible sensation of heat around him. Legs coiled around his waist, Clark continued a forceful pace, thrusting so hard he feared he might be hurting her but the only cries from Lois, were the ones for him not to stop and Clark was inordinately grateful for that.

"God…Lois…you feel so good," he hissed through clenched teeth, completely undone by the moist, contracting walls around him, coupled with her nails clawing at his back, her hips moving to the rhythm he set until Clark was calling out her name. There was a moment of clarity when he felt her release and suddenly, he was forced to push through a passage so tight, it drew a groan from his lips and shattered what control he had left.

"LOIS!" He cried her name in sweet surrender of his pleasure and of his soul.

"Oh God do you remember this?" Lois Lane laughed as she showed Clark a Polaroid of herself, Chloe and Clark, wearing loud Smallville High t-shirts for some charity drive the school had forced them to volunteer for. "I can't believe she kept this."

It was hard to believe Lois had such difficulty opening this box because now as she sat next to Clark on the carpet, going through its contents, it felt like she was discovering why she had adored Chloe so much. She shouldn't have tried to forget Chloe, Lois told herself. Not when Chloe was such a big part of her life, even in death. The best lessons that Lois had about being a journalist, the important things like integrity, the crusade to use the truth to help not just to expose had come from Chloe. How could Lois ever try to turn her back on that?

As Clark glanced at the picture, remembering the day clearly, he took a moment to appreciate how utterly spectacular Lois looked wearing nothing but his shirt, her hair a tousled mess with the afterglow on her skin that could only be attributed to sin.

_And lots of it_, he thought with a similarly satisfied smirk.

"Well Chloe liked to keep everything," he said looking at the picture and feeling a surge of loss at Chloe's absence in his life. "Hey look," he reached into the box and extracted a blue haired Troll doll. "Don't you have one on your desk like this?"

"Mine's purple," Lois retorted, smiling at the ugly, plastic doll. "We both got them at the same time. God I miss her," she said resting her head against his bare shoulder.

"Me too," Clark replied softly. "She was such a big part of our lives, I sometimes think we took her for granted."

"She knew we cared," Lois was quick to refute. "That was the thing with Chloe, she knew it even when we were both too self absorbed with our own crap to tell her."

Nicely put, Clark thought but he agreed with Lois there.

"Okay," Lois let out a deep exhale expelling their melancholy so they could get back to work. "Let's see what else we can find in here," she retorted, bouncing back as only she could and reached into the box again.

"Hold that thought Lois," Clark said suddenly, his eyes taking on that distant look which she was starting to interpret as his 'Superman' radar at work.

With a sudden burst of acceleration, Lois was barely able to blink twice before Clark had sped through her home, retrieved something from his briefcase and was flying out the balcony, dressed as Superman. Thank God, it was evening already, she thought as he flew out, causing the curtains to billow in the wake of his departure. Realising this was just one of those things she was going to get used to, Lois returned to the task at hand, examining Chloe's belongings.

As anticipated, the contents of Chloe's desk did not reveal much in regards to what she had been working on the day she died. Her PDA had not been on her body when Chloe was retrieved from the shores of New Troy Island. Lois suspected that it was probably at the bottom of the Metropolis Harbour or something. Since Chloe kept almost all her information on the portable device, the PDA had taken Chloe's secrets with it to the briny deep.

Even though she had hoped to find something amongst these things, Lois was not optimistic. Suddenly, just as abruptly as he had vanished, Clark returned through balcony doors again, this time carrying pizza.

"I thought I'd grab us some dinner," he smiled.

"You walked into a pizza parlour dressed like that?" She stared at him but her mouth already watering at the delicious aroma emanating from the pizza box.

"Actually I was putting out a fire next door," Clark replied, setting the pizza carton down on the table before using super speed to discard the blue and red suit for the pair of pants he had been wearing before the emergency. "The pizza owner was quite grateful and I thought… why not?"

"Hey no arguments from me," she replied with a smile and then added. "Although, I have to say, I had this weird notion earlier on that you wore the thing under your clothes. It would have made sex interesting to say the least if you had it on." She teased.

"Lois!" Clark laughed, wondering where she came up with such thoughts.

"Hey come on," Lois defended herself. "You got to admit it was a valid concern."

"Yeah, yeah, " Clark rolled his eyes. "I'm afraid my kinks don't go that way, thankfully."

"Give it time Smallville," she winked deviously when their intimate sojourn was interrupted by Lois' Whitesnake 'Here I go Again' ring tone.

Clark winced at the choice of music that was the one thing he and Lois never reconciled on. Upon seeing his reaction, she made a face at him before answering the phone without looking to see who was calling.

"Hello," she spoke.

"Lois," the familiar voice of Jimmy Olsen echoed through the receiver.

"Jimmy," Lois exclaimed, meeting Clark's gaze who immediately began to listen in via his enhanced hearing. "What's the word?"

"The word is," Jimmy replied. "Is that you and CK better get down here, right now."


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER ELEVEN: AVEC AMOUR

Jimmy Olsen hadn't been to Smallville in years.

Even before Chloe's death, the town hadn't been graced by his presence for a long time. The last time he had been here, he had said goodbye to Chloe prior to leaving for Europe, to act as photographer to famous author, Kent Nelson, who was writing a travel book across the continent. They had said goodbye to each other, with all the usual promises of young love, unaware that the next time they faced each others, their feelings for each another would be remarkably distant. By then she would have started dating billionaire Bruce Wayne and he would have begun his off and on relationship with Lucy Lane.

When Jimmy returned to the States, Chloe was spending her time between her job in Metropolis, her commute from Smallville and her weekend trips to Gotham to visit Bruce. They had shared lunch and laughed about the old times, even though there was an underlying sense of sadness that they never really had a chance to be anything more to each other. Jimmy had come away from that afternoon saddened but content that the choices made by both were the right ones.

And yet on the day he found out she died, he wept like a child.

While he had been magnanimous in his offer to investigate the cold trail of Chloe's last story, Jimmy found it harder and harder to face when he closed in on the town of Smallville. Of course it did not help that the place hadn't changed on whit and Smallville looked like it was trapped in a snow-globe, frozen in time, an image of perfection that lasted forever. He had been an eager basement dwelling photographer for the Daily Planet the last time he was here and now he was a photo-journalist of some reputation. However, when he drove back into this town, five years felt like yesterday.

Driving through the main street hours after he left Metropolis, Jimmy found himself craning his neck as he sighted a familiar street or a new shop front that hadn't been there before. Unable to resist the nostalgia bug that bit him as he journeyed through town, Jimmy brought the car to the kerb in front of the Talon. Smallville's most enduring coffee house remained just the same while still managing to attract the younger crowds who always seemed to congregate to the place. Every small town had one, Jimmy supposed. A place where the young went and the old looked back with fond memories of their youth.

It was noon when he entered the Talon and once again felt older than his years even though he wasn't quite thirty. Surrounded by so many so many youthful faces, Jimmy wondered if he had ever been that young and remembered sitting around the tables with Chloe, Lois and Clark, chewing the fat about the world around them and the weird they dealt with on a day to day basis. Reaching the counter, Jimmy decided he would grab a coffee and head out to the Smallville dam to check out the site of the suspected toxic dump. Lois had said that the best way to learn what Chloe had discovered was to retrace her steps and that's what exactly Jimmy intended to do.

"Jimmy Olsen?" He heard his name being called.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Lana Lang Luthor smiling at her, carrying a tray in her hand, a familiar coffee shop apron wrapped around her body.

"Lana," Jimmy burst into a wide smile, "how are you doing?"

"Good, good," Lana said continuing to the counter where she relinquished the tray of empty mugs to the girl behind it. "It's been ages since I've seen you. What brings you to Smallville?"

Jimmy stared at her for a moment, trying to think of what to say. He was certain that Lois and Clark said that Lana was not to be let in on the truth regarding Lex's innocence in Chloe's death. However, he was never a very good liar and stumbled with how to answer. It came to him though in a flash of inspiration with less of a pause than might be deemed suspicious to the woman.

"I'm here investigating a possible toxic dump scandal," he explained, rather pleased with himself for coming up with the excuse.

"Really?" She raised a brow. "From where?" Luthor Corp had pulled up stakes and abandoned Smallville shortly after Lex's arrest. Lionel it seemed was done with Smallville, thankfully.

"We're not sure," Jimmy returned. "It's a story that's been on ice for a while. We're finally sweeping the dust off it to investigate. Coffee please," he asked of the young woman manning the counter. "Its been a while since I've been in town," he faced Lana again. "But do you still take the old Creek Road to the dam?"

Lana chuckled, "no _that_ takes you to Crater Lake. You take the turn off the highway, travel down Patterson Lane for three miles before coming unto the Dam Road," she explained.

"Okay," Jimmy nodded, trying to archive all this information for use later while wearing a dubious look at whether or not any of it would stick to his memory.

Lana noted the expression and smiled. "I tell you what, if you don't mind the company, I'll play tour guide and come with you."

"Oh no," Jimmy quickly back pedalled, certain that this wasn't a good idea since the directive from Lois and Clark had been to keep Lana out of the loop until there was more news. "I don't want to be a pest."

"Don't be silly," she said starting to untie the strings of her apron. "I have a few hours before I have to pick up Laura and you can catch me up on what's happening with Lois."

In truth, Lana had an ulterior motive for wanting to accompany Jimmy. Like the rest of the planet, Lana read the newspapers. The appearance of Superman had created similar hysteria in Smallville as the rest of the world but Lana knew immediately who the mysterious hero was. Just like Lois Lane would know him from sight, Lana Luther recognised Clark Kent even if he was wearing blue tights and a cape. With Jimmy being the photographer who snapped the almost mythic picture of Lois being rescued by Superman, Lana wanted the inside scoop what was happening in Metropolis.

Jimmy was at a loss over how to turn down her offer of assistance without drawing her suspicion and so he justified her presence with the fact that he wouldn't give Lana the specifics on what he was truly after. Not a difficult thing to do since he had no idea himself what he was looking for. This was a hunch, not only on his part but also on the parts of Lois and Clark. Who knows, he thought to himself, maybe Lana's familiarity with the terrain might even help.

"Sure," he answered, conceding defeat but lacing his response with a smile so she wouldn't think she was intruding, even if in reality she was.

"Great," Lana burst into a smile and for a moment Jimmy understood what had dazzled both Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. The woman lit up a room when she smiled, no doubt about it he thought. "I'll just grab my bag."

"I'm not going anywhere until I get coffee," he returned amiably, thinking it wouldn't be so bad having her along, could it?

In retrospect, it was still a difficult question to answer.

Quickly into the drive towards the dam, Jimmy discovered Lana's ulterior motive for joining him. No sooner than he had driven down the road heading out of Smallville proper, Lana began questioning him about this 'Superman'. Uncertain of how much she knew about CK's business, he was cautious with his answers, telling her only that he knew what everyone else did, despite the picture. Lana seemed contemplative of his answers and if CK was uncertain whether or not Lana recognized him in tights, Jimmy was able to offer him a convincing argument for it. Despite his guarded answers, Lana did not press and Jimmy respected her when he sensed she was willing to kerb her curiosity to protect Clark and his secret.

Of course, while he could feign ignorance about Superman, he could not claim the same about Clark Kent.

"How is he?" She asked with a hint of affection in her eyes as she made the inquiry.

"You know CK," Jimmy replied, recognizing the bittersweet sadness, "never changes."

The romance of Clark Kent and Lana Lang was almost a Shakespearean tragedy. Jimmy had sat on the sidelines watching the drama unfold in its ultimate year, having heard the highlights from Chloe when they still dated. Theirs could have been the story of Prince Charming and the Princess, except in this case the Princess ran away with the bad guy and married him.

Not the best end to an old story.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I suppose he doesn't. I gather Lois wasn't happy to see him?"

If it were her, Lana would be livid. Of course, it wasn't her that Clark would run back to. She had burned those bridges long ago and it was best that things were left were they were. By the time they had finished with each other, neither were the image they appeared in each other's eyes.

"That's putting it mildly," Jimmy retorted as they put more and more distance between them and the town. With the trees rushing past in blurry, verdant images, the landscape of Kansas appeared on either side of the car. Jimmy took a moment to admire the simplistic beauty of the cornfields and the blue sky above it. In the city, it was easy to forget that a more serene life existed beyond concrete and steel.

"Lois is well... Lois." He answered as if that explained everything. To those who knew Lois personally, it explained quite _a bit. _

"She'll come around," Lana returned with a faint smile, knowing what she saw in Lois' eyes that morning at breakfast. Had she ever loved Clark that much? After seeing Lois' eyes, even when the words she spoke were full of anger, Lana saw the terrible sadness at losing him. No, Lois would keep her distance for awhile until that formidable temper wore away and then she would admit it to herself and to Clark, whether or not it was deserved. "When it comes to great relationships, the best ones are the ones we fight."

Jimmy threw her a sidelong glance wondering if she meant the same of her relationship with Lex Luthor. For the first time, Jimmy experienced the same guilt at keeping silent about CK's big bad and its part in Lex's arrest. As much as Lex had been a victim, languishing in prison for five years, Lana Lang had been in a cage of her own. One where she believed her husband was a murderer. How was she going to react when she learned the truth?

Jimmy had no wish to be there when she found out.

***********

It became evident to Lana within half an hour of arriving at the Smallville dam that Jimmy Olsen was looking for more than the site of an illegal toxic spill into the water. For one thing, the waters of the dam appeared serene, with little indication of pollution. There was none of the tell tale signs of dead fauna or any kind of sediment building on the river bed, nor was there any effect on the surrounding flora. In fact, Smallville dam looked as it always had, a clean, fresh source of irrigation and drinking water for Smallville and the surrounding communities.

Saying nothing about her suspicions, she engaged him in small talk, noting that his eyes seemed to be fixated on more than just the water. This could be a reporter's trick, Chloe was pretty much the same. Observation was key, Chloe had often said and so Lana put down Jimmy's preoccupation to that creed. However, she couldn't dispel the notion that he was looking for more. They spoke of Smallvile, the friends left behind and their future plans, whilst carefully side stepping the white elephant of Lex Luthor.

After an hour, Jimmy arrived at the dam itself. Although operational, there were restricted signs all over the place, warning instability. Five years ago, a minor tremor had caused significant damage to the damn and while the main structure remained safe enough to hold back the tide, other older and disused parts of it had been submerged, in some places had collapsed all together. While the local council had repaired as much was possible, town coffers were not what they were used to be as Luther Corp had pulled out town leaving many without work. A year later, Queen Industries opened a factory in town that replenished the town again but the issue of repairing parts of the dam that was obsolete was never broached again.

Jimmy stared at the fence line that barred the portion of the dam that was almost certainly the site of Luthor's Section 33.1 laboratory. Had Chloe come here all those years ago and discovered something that cost her, her life? It hardly seemed as if anyone had been here in a while. Grass and weeds had grown through the cracks of concrete and entrance was covered in cobwebs.

"Lana," Jimmy declared. "Why don't you head back to the car? I'm going to take a look in there."

"Why?" She asked pointedly, the belief that he was not here about a toxic scandal solidified in her brain now. "It's nothing more than a bunch of abandoned access tunnels. Besides, the town council have been saying for years its dangerous in there. The earthquake shook a lot of thing loose, you don't want to be there if any of it goes."

"I won't be that long," he said, walking along the fence, looking for a spot to climb over or through. "I'll just take a look and get out."

"Jimmy, don't you think its time you tell me what this is about?" She looked at him pointedly.

Crap, Jimmy swore inwardly. "What do you mean?" He asked, still feigning ignorance even though he knew that the excuse was wearing thin.

"You're not here for a toxic dump scandal," she declared. "You're after something specific. Why don't you tell me and maybe I can help you. I've lived here all my life. If there's some dirt about Smallville to be found maybe I can give you an insight." She offered.

Jimmy sighed, trying to decide what to do before he finally gave in, partially. "Lana, I'm following Chloe's last story. I don't think it was about Lex and Section 33.1, I think it was about something else."

Considering the fact that the prosecution's entire case against Lex had been built on the belief of Chloe's discovery of his involvement in 33.1, Lana took it rather well. Her expression revealed nothing of her emotions and her mask could have been carved of marble instead of flesh. She eyed him for the longest time, saying nothing and in that pause, Jimmy cursed himself for speaking. This was why he was just no good as an investigative reporter, he could never lie worth a damn or for that matter, keep his mouth shut.

"This is Clark's idea, isn't it?" She asked, blinking slowly.

"Yes," Jimmy saw no reason to lie and the truth would save him from answering questions it was not his place to answer.

"Is Lex innocent?" Her lips were almost trembling when she asked.

Hell, Jimmy swore and was determined this time to give nothing else away. "I don't know Lana," he said after awhile. "I only know that Clark asked me to come take a look around here because he thinks there was more to Chloe's death than we thought."

Lana Lang Luthor nodded, not trusting to say anything at that moment. Even though Jimmy had tried to hide it, she had seen the conflict in his eyes, the determination not to reveal too much. His body language spoke more succinctly then his words ever could. For five years, she had lived with the guilt that she had married the monster who had killed her best friend. Determined not to run away and hide, Lana had held firm in Smallville despite the small town notoriety that came with being married to such a man. She had tried to keep the stigma away from Laura and dreaded with each waking moment, the day when the child asked about her father. Through all this, she had managed to endure because she could rely on the truth. Whatever was done, was done for a just cause. A murderer had no part in her daughter's life.

If that wasn't true, if Lex was innocent then her crime would be worse than marrying a murderer. She would have turned her back on an innocent man and robbed Laura of her father. Lana couldn't even begin to fathom how she'd live through that.

"You have to let me help," Lana said evenly but the reason in her voice was being tethered by gossamer restraints. "I need to know the truth."

Jimmy nodded, unable to deny her that, damn what CK and Lois said. She had a _right_ to know.

"Alright," he acquiesced but this time he felt no guilt in his concession. "If we're going to do this, then we have to go in there." He glanced at the open maw of the service door on the other side of the fence.

"Then let's go," she answered without hesitation.

Jimmy nodded, looking up at the fence. It did not have razor wire or security cameras. In fact, the lack of security was what ensured its anonymity. Who wanted to spend on all that money protecting nothing? "You think you can climb this?" He glanced at her and then back at the chain mail fence.

"I'll manage," she retorted.

Scaling the fence, it took no more than a few minutes before they had swung over the top and dropped onto the bitumen pave on the other side. Lana looked around and dusted herself off, wondering why she was entertaining this idea as they walked towards the opening. The law had found Lex guilty, she had nothing to blame herself for. She chanted that to herself as Jimmy knelt down to examine the heavy padlock that sealed the metal access door from the rest of the world. Unsurprisingly, the Daily Planet photographer was not about to be beaten by a mere lock and revealed his ability to break and enter as he produced a folded leather case containing picklock tools.

"I won't ask," Lana gave him a look.

Throwing her that school boy smile of mischief that often charmed more women than he knew, Jimmy smirked. "I actually learnt this from _Lois. _"

"Oh that doesn't surprise me," Lana shook her head with bemusement. Lois Lane was a force to be reckoned with and with a slight twinge of resentment, Lana had to admit she was perfectly suited for Clark who was a force of nature himself. They were like two atoms smashing together, she thought.

Suddenly the lock clunked open and Lana felt some surprise to see Jimmy had managed to open the door. "No problem," he grinned and pushed the rusty door in.

It made a loud groaning sound, a mixture of metal creaking and stone grinding. Lana winced as she heard it resist the intrusion until finally Jimmy's insistence forced it to give way and it swung open. The photographer reached into his camera bag and produced a handheld torch. It was just as well because the sunlight only penetrated the first six or ten feet of the corridor the doorway emptied into. After that, the light diminished rapidly and by the time they had made the first turn, it was almost pitch black.

She could hear water dribbling in the distance and the smell of moist, dank air filled her lungs. Things scurried in the darkness and Lana began to rethink this whole idea of following Jimmy in the first place. However, the illumination from the xenon powered torch did a much to assuage her concerns. Light flooded the narrow corridor that seemed to lead downwards. The memory of being abducted in Mexico returned to her then but Lana forced the anxiety away. After nearly becoming a sacrifice to Aztec gods in their temple reeking of blood, Lana had opted to avoid dark, narrow passages.

"You okay?" He asked, noticing her silence.

"I'm fine," she said shrugging it off. "So what are we looking for?"

"I don't know really," Jimmy replied, "Lex claimed that Section 33.1 used to be in the part of the dam that was unstable."

"I thought this wasn't about 33.1," Lana inquired.

"It isn't but my gut says _something_ went down here," Jimmy replied, unable to tell her that the most likely reason that Brainiac had framed Lex was what he had been doing in this place just before his arrest. If Chloe had come here searching a story about a toxic dump, she might have inadvertently led here, entertaining the possibility that the spill could have happened from inside the dam and who would pursue a lead in a locked up service passage that might be unstable? If he knew Chloe at all; that would have set her alarm bells off from a mile away.

They reached a juncture of the corridor and the evidence of disturbance became more and more apparent as the floor became covered with debris. Fallen chunks of concrete were on the floor, some had been eroded to fine silt by water that had long since drained away. There was nothing yet however to indicate that this place had been anything but forgotten by time.

"There's nothing here," Lana replied as they continued to walk until they reached another juncture and stronger evidence of the earthquake that caused the instability appeared.

A wall had crumbled entirely, the equipment within had been removed, probably when the dust had settled and Luthor Corp had sent in a clean up crew to remove any trace of the experimentation that took place here. A few pieces of furniture remained though, a gurney here, an IV stand there, just remnant enough to appear ominous. Lana tried to ignore what she was seeing, trying to imagine Clark being strapped down a gurney, fluids pumped into him while scientists treated him like a lab animal and worse yet, Lex presiding over it all.

"Let's go," she said turning away.

"Just a bit further," Jimmy insisted, refusing to think that this place had nothing to tell them.

Leaving the room behind them, they continued their journey into the catacombs where the smell of mustiness was almost overpowering. This time however, they were rewarded by whole piles of debris, crumbled when the water had burst through. The signs of water damage were apparent and the mounds were not irregular clumps of concrete and rock but smoothed, worn silt on the surface, erosion having done its work well.

It did however, mark the end of how far they could go. The ceiling had collapsed above the mounds and only dark cracks appeared in place of a passage. He doubted that he'd fit through the narrow gaps and to make the attempt was inviting trouble. Jimmy resigned himself to turning back since he was not about to risk Lana's life by being reckless. The whole thing could collapse if they went moving around in there.

"Well," he sighed. "Looks like we've hit a dead end."

"Yeah," Lana said disappointed. For a moment, she had hoped that there might be something here, unfortunately disappointment was a feeling she had grown accustomed to.

Jimmy started to turn around when the light of the torch swung wide and suddenly, he heard Lana call out.

"WAIT!"

Freezing in place, he aimed the light at her just in time to see her small frame scrambling through the mounds of debris. The woman was squeezing through the piles, her lithe frame between them with ease into the darkness.

"Lana what are you doing?" He almost shouted.

"I saw something!" She hollered back, "Aim the light in here!"

Jimmy complied, wondering whether it was his lot in life to be ordered about by headstrong women.

Lana had been about to turn when something caught the light of Jimmy's torch. It penetrated the blackness to catch her in the eye until she had to wince and turn away. Still, it was enough to demand investigation and driven by something she couldn't define, Lana found herself crawling through the narrow spaces on her hands and knees, because slabs of rock that was once the ceiling, kept from doing anything else. The glare from the xenon torch found her mysterious object and when Lana reached for it, she wasn't sure what she was expecting.

Until she heard the sick squelch of bone snapping. It took her an instant to realise that it was a ring she was holding, a ring with a finger still attached to it. There was no longer any flesh, but the finger was intact to the third joint, the _metacarpophalangeal joint_, Lana thought, remembering her biology classes. Her eyes moving slowly to the darkness from where the ring came, Jimmy's light illuminated the rest of the hand it had been attached to.

"Lana!" Jimmy called out again. "What's happening! What did you find?"

Forcing herself not to toss away the finger in revulsion, Lana enclosed it in her fist, ignoring the cold sensation of it against her palm as she crawled out of the crevasse. "I found something…" she spoke her voice shaken.

"Jesus Christ," Jimmy burst out. "Don't do that! Do you know how dangerous this place is?"

"I had to know what it was, I thought it might be a clue to the truth," she kept herself from adding, _or to finding out if Lex was really guilty_. Opening her palm she examined the ring once she stomached removing the bones from it. Jimmy held open his camera case for her to deposit the remains in there, since he wasn't eager to handle it himself.

It was a simple gold band, nothing extravagant about it. The thickness indicated that it was made for a man and with a flash of insight, Lana realised that this was someone's wedding ring.

"There's an inscription," she said gesturing at him to angle the light so she could read it.

_Pour mon mari, avec amour -Lillian_

A summer in French and classes at high school gave Lana Luthor enough ability to translate it clearly and though it was in another language, its content was nothing less than illuminating.

"Oh my God," she stared at the dark opening again. "Oh dear god…" She whispered.

"WHAT?" Jimmy demanded, starting to get panicked, not by her words but by the visible shudder in her body. "What does it say?"

Lana swallowed thickly before she answered him, her voice barely a whisper. "To my husband with love, Lillian."


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER TWELVE: FORGIVENESS

Was it tomorrow already?

It still felt like yesterday as Lois Lane looked beneath her and saw the world moving by in a blur of dark indigo colours. Cool wind rushing through her hair, making her cheeks cold and instilling her with a sense of euphoria that no drug could ever match, Lois felt as if the five years apart had never been. With her arms wrapped around Clark's neck, eyes meeting on occasion to share the same thought in wordless communication, Lois felt like the vibrant young woman she had been when she first met him.

It seemed prophetic that they were returning to where it all had begun for them, to Smallville.

Within twenty minutes of getting off the phone with Jimmy Olsen, they had left her apartment, bound for the small rural community. Lois wondered what would its citizens think if they knew that not only had did Metropolis' best investigative journalist called their small town home, it was also home to the greatest hero the world would ever know. Even though Clark's foray as Superman had only just begun, Lois knew this without any doubt. It was his destiny to be a hero to the world and hers to be the woman who loved him.

Jimmy hadn't told them what he had found and Clark's determination to reach the photographer was driven by the fear that Jimmy might fall prey to the same alteration that Lex had. Especially if the Construct learned of his discovery, whatever it was. After having lost all remnants of his friendship with Lex, Clark wasn't prepared to lose Jimmy as well. Not when Jimmy was coming to mean as much to him.

It was an odd. In the past Jimmy had been an annoyance. Clark suspected his dislike had to do with the notion that anyone other than he could be the centre of Chloe's universe.

It was selfish and Clark knew it but he could not deny a part of him had entertained the possibility of taking his friendship with her one step further. However, Jimmy's arrival into her life intruded upon that unspoken hope. Even worse, Clark knew that such a relationship would only come about if he couldn't have Lana and was settling for Chloe. In retrospect, he was glad he had never crossed that line because even if it wasn't Jimmy but rather Bruce, Chloe deserved to be with someone who didn't think being with her was 'settling'.

Since his return however, without that between them, Clark found himself warming to Jimmy Olsen. Unlike Bruce (with whom he would really have to catch up with soon) or Lex, Jimmy was exactly what he appeared to be, courageous, forthright and loyal to his friends. He was accepting of Clark's secret and appeared almost privileged to be apart of a select group who knew the truth about Superman. What surprised Clark most however, was the fact that Jimmy had _always_ been this way. Clark just never saw it.

Wearing the suit when he flew with Lois to Smallville, it seemed the more sensible course since anyone who saw him would recognise Superman, not Clark Kent. Despite his original misgivings about wearing the costume, he realised that Superman was developing into a completely separate identity from his own. Superman was larger than life, with the freedom to display his powers without fear of discovery and nowhere associated with a mild mannered reporter newly employed at the Daily Planet.

Arriving at the dam, Clark wondered what they could have discovered to warrant such insistence to stay on site. Jimmy had refused to meet anywhere else but at the dam and as Clark closed in on the place, he was able to see Jimmy wasn't alone. Lana was with him. What on Earth was Lana doing here? How had she gotten involved in this? Did Jimmy tell her about Lex? Clark hated to think the man could have such loose lips but he could think of no other explanation.

"Lana's here with him," Clark announced as they stared descending through the clouds, the panoramic view of the dam beneath their feet as they landed not far from the steel fence where Lana and Jimmy had sneaked through an hour before.

"Lana?" Lois exclaimed with surprise, trying to spot them but lacking the Kryptonian vision to do so. "What's she doing here?"

"I don't know," Clark shook his head and was tempted to eavesdrop on Lana and Jimmy's conversation before deciding against it. It was rude to intrude on their privacy.

"Goddamn Jimmy," Lois rolled her eyes in exasperation. "This is why he takes pictures and is no good undercover. The guy has no ability to lie."

"That's not entirely a bad thing Lois," Clark deadpanned but he wished Lana wasn't told about Lex yet, if that's why she was here.

"Boy scout," she snorted, tugging a dry chuckle from his throat.

Landing in the cover of some trees, Clark immediately changed into his street clothes, in this case, a pair of jeans and a dark t-shirt before he and Lois made their way through the tree line to meet Jimmy and Lana.

*****************

After their emergence from the passageway following their grisly discovery, neither Lana nor Jimmy had been in the mood to talk. Both were too engrossed with thoughts of their own as they individually pieced together the last day of Chloe Sullivan's life. For Lana, her memories had taken her even further back than that terrible day, to a dinner she and Lex had been having, shortly after Laura was born.

_Being Lex Luthor's wife had meant that she was surrounded by a household of people who took care of her domestic needs, from the food she ate to the clothes she wore on her back. Maids, housekeepers, cooks, gardeners, the list seemed endless. However, when Laura was born, Lana was determined not to add a nanny to the ranks of live in staff. While she accepted the services of one during the day almost begrudgingly, for most part Lana preferred to do for Laura herself. Having lost her parents in the first meteor shower, Lana needed to establish that close bond with her child from the onset._

On the evening in question, Lana was exhausted and had acquiesced to Lex's demands that she get some rest and leave their daughter for this night at least to her nanny. A bout of colic had kept the child up for most of the previous night and being a new mother, Lana had fussed most of the night trying to get the child to settle down.

Lex had brought her a dinner tray and they had both curled up watching television, such a mundane thing for a billionaire and his wife to do but Lana found it was the simplest things that always brought out the best in their relationship. The telephone call had come in the middle of the Philadelphia Story and Lex's expression had gone from carefree to sombre in a space of seconds.

"What's happened Lex?" She asked.

"We've had some trouble at one of our labs," he answered her after hanging up the phone. The look in his eyes told her that he would be leaving soon. "Some kind of structural failure in one of the buildings," he added, the furrow in his brow growing thicker.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"We're not sure, it's at the Smallville dam. Some of walls have collapsed and flooded parts of the complex. A few people are unaccounted for."

"Oh my god," she exclaimed. "Do you need to go?" Her eyes showed understanding. Lex would want to investigate himself.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I have to see what's happening down there."

"Go," she retorted without hesitation. "Go and help if you can."

"I'll make it up to you," he said kissing her deeply before pulling away. 

In the present, Lana thought of that incident. It happened a few weeks before Lex's arrest and Lana knew she had seen Lionel after that day and others since. For the first time, the quirks of fate that she had deemed fortunate now had a darker design. During the divorce, Lana's greatest fear was what kind of access the Luthors would demand to her daughter. Lionel's obsession with having a worthy Luthor heir had convinced Lana the man would try to wrestle away her daughter. Yet no custody application was ever made. Lana had counted herself lucky and never scrutinized the man's reasoning.

There were other things as well, Lionel's refusal to help Lex out of his situation. Despite the power struggles between father and son, there was some paternal feeling in Lionel for Lex; Lana had never understood why he had suddenly opted to withdraw his help. Neither had Lionel ever come to Lana about seeing Laura. There had been so many clues before this but Lana had never seen it. Perhaps to a degree, she didn't want to see it.

Now she understood. Lionel had been dead for five years and a stranger had been in charge of Luthor Corp.

"CK!" She heard Jimmy call out as they waited by the car parked next to the fence.

Raising her eyes, she saw Clark Kent appear with Lois Lane. Clark was not dressed as Superman but in the familiar jeans and t-shirt he had always favoured in the past. For a few seconds at least, Lana forgot their grisly discovery and felt like she was sixteen years old again where the world didn't seem like such a cruel hard place.

Even after all these years, even though he loved Lois without doubt or hesitation, there was something in him that felt remorse and regret whenever he laid eyes on Lana Lang. in her face, he saw his youth, his hopes and dreams, stillborn by fear and secrets. Loving her had changed them both and to this day, Clark did not know how to view that period in his life. With fondness or regret. Still, the boy he had been would always love her a little. Clark held onto that because it was important. It was a part of who he was and the man he had become.

"Lana," he offered her a smile.

"Clark," Lana returned his smile and hugged him warmly, genuinely happy to have him back even if he would never be hers. Their connection was such that it didn't matter who they loved in their lives. They would always be more than friends but less than lovers.

"Its good to have you home," she said before pulling away.

"It's good to be home," he remarked, glancing at Lois before turning back to Lana. "You look great and I hear Laura's wonderful."

"As her mother, I'm too biased to say otherwise," Lana returned, knowing that report came from Lois. She wanted to ply him with a thousand questions of where he had been, why had he gone but Lana sensed he had already gone through this with Lois and there was no need to rehash.

"So you found something?" Lois broke conversation, directing her question more at Jimmy than, trying to get past all the emotions swirling around them. She was never good with such moments and often tried to avoid them as best she could.

"Hell yeah," Jimmy declared, also eager to get down to business. "We went searching in the dam, to take a look at this structural damage that Lex was talking about…"

"Lex," Lana exclaimed. "You've spoken to Lex…?" She stared at Clark questioning.

"Yes," Clark nodded. "We'll explain in a minute. What did you find?"

"Its just like he said," Jimmy continued. "There was definitely some kind of quake, the place looked wrecked. A lot of water damage."

"Just like he described," Lois pointed out, noting Lana's impatience at an explanation about Lex's involvement. "He said that there was some kind of structural failure at the dam, the facility was flooded."

"I remember the night that happened," Lana spoke up. "It happened before Lex was arrested, at least a few weeks before."

"Lana and I went searching the debris," Jimmy replied, resuming his story. "Actually it was Lana who found it."

Both Lois and Clark looked at Lana. "Found what?" Lois asked first.

Lana reached into her pocket, once again ignoring the revulsion she felt when her fingers grazed the bone she had kept there to retrieve the gold ring. "This," she showed it to Clark. "Do you remember this?"

At first sight, Clark had to say no. It was a non-descript wedding band. His father had one like this. Men tended to favour less ostentatious ring wear (unless their name had Puff in front of it or something). With his enhanced vision, he studied it in her hand and looked up a second later after reading the inscription.

"This is Lionel's." He stated.

"Lionel's?" Lois blurted out.

"This was in the debris?" Clark asked Lana.

Lana and Jimmy exchanged glances before Jimmy answered, "CK, it was found in the debris, attached to a body."

"But that would mean…" Lois stopped short. "Oh Jesus…" she whispered.

"That's what he was after," Clark caught on and turned away, the truth was so obvious if you knew what you were looking. "He killed Chloe to get Lex's company."

"WHAT?" Lana demanded. "Who killed Chloe?"

Lois shot a helpless look at Clark, telling him without having to say a word that it was time to tell Lana the truth, whatever the consequences and however much it would hurt the woman to hear it. Lana wasn't a fool, she was starting to see the truth herself and she would hate those who had knowingly kept her in the dark. "Clark…" Lois uttered, "We _have_ to tell her."

"TELL ME WHAT?" Lana almost shouted because this sickening sensation in her stomach was telling her that her worst fear since this had all started might actually be the truth she refused to entertain for the last five years.

"Lex didn't kill Chloe," Clark spoke, wearing an unreadable expression on his face as he saw hers turn to utter anguish.

"No," she stated but it was mostly reflex, a coping mechanism to hold back the tidal wave of guilt that would soon crash down on her. "There were pictures," she whispered, "I _saw_ them."

Clark wanted to approach her and yet he knew that when she came to hear the rest of it, comfort was the last thing she would want from him. Instead, it was Jimmy who went to her, putting a hand on her shoulders, offering her his support.

Grateful to Jimmy for the action, Clark spoke further. "It was Milton Fine."

"Fine?" She stared at him in horror, recognising the name. The shape shifter. Fine had been some kind of artificial intelligence, able to morph into any likeness. After the whole episode with Zod, Lex had explained it to her. "How do you know?" She questioned.

Here it was, crunch time. There was no avoiding it now. He had to tell her the truth and did so bracing himself, knowing his Kryptonian skin would not protect him, "when I saw Chloe's body, I found a piece of the black ship in the wound."

A sound escaped her throat, half sob, half fury, all anguish. "That was five years ago!" She spat at him. "You knew for _five years_ that he didn't do it?" She crossed the space between them.

"Lana, its not Clark's fault…" Lois started to say, trying to intercede for her lover because she knew what Lana was feeling and yet suspected that words wouldn't be enough to quell her anger, how could it be?

"The hell it isn't," Lana pushed past and stormed up to Clark, striking him across the face in merciless retaliation. "How could you!" She screamed at him. "How could you not tell me?! How could you let me abandon Lex knowing that he was innocent! My God Clark, how could you do that to me? I have spent the last five years thinking the man I loved was a murderer when all the while he was innocent! I have hated myself for loving a monster! I told Laura Lex was dead just so she wouldn't ask questions about where she came from and all the while he was begging me, begging me Clark to _believe_him!"

Jimmy stepped in again and this time, Lana did brush him away as she wept into his shoulder, with each sob a dagger to Clark's heart. He had thought he was done hurting to Lana Lang. How terrible to learn that he was still capable of breaking her into pieces again.

"Lana, I'm so sorry," Clark tried to explain, feeling the sting even as profoundly as when he received the same from Lois. Only this felt worse. It felt a thousand times worse because it wasn't just Lana that had been hurt by his silence but also an innocent child. Just as Lana knew how it was to be denied a father, Clark had unknowingly condemned little Laura to the same fate.

"I wasn't thinking when I found out about Chloe's death, I really wasn't," he insisted, desperate for her to understand what had motivated his actions, although none of it seemed terribly important in the face of her pain. "I didn't think of the consequences of my actions and by the time I did, it was too late to help Lex." The words sounded meaningless even as he said them.

"I will _never_ forgive you for this," she hissed, eyes burning with fury as she walked past him.

Clark blinked slowly as Lana went, unable to say anything else.

"Clark, she didn't mean that…" Lois started to say.

But even as she said those words, he could see the lie in Lois' eyes.

**************

Jimmy had volunteered to take Lana back to the Talon which was just as well, Lois thought, since it would spare Clark feeling any more guilt than he already did. As much as she tried to offer him words of comfort, Lois could not deny that Lana's fury was justified. For five years, Lana had denied Lex's existence to her child and to herself because she thought he was a murderer. While Lex was no saint for certain, Lois understood Lana's pain came from her guilt at abandoning her husband when he needed her faith the most and it was this fact more than any other that tormented Lana so.

"Are you alright?" She asked as they moved into the passage way to see what Jimmy and Lana had found.

"I'm fine," he said quietly and from the timbre of his voice, Lois knew he was not.

"She's just angry Smallville," Lois spoke up, her intertwined fingers giving his a squeeze as they walked.

"She has a right to be," he said shortly. "I was a coward Lois."

"No you weren't," she spoke automatically.

"I _was_ a coward," he repeated before pausing to look at her. "All my life I've run away from _everything_. Whenever it got too hard, I ran. Oh sure, I told myself I was protecting the people that I loved but the truth was I was protecting myself. I kept my secret from Lex and it destroyed him. I kept it from Lana and drove her away. I kept denying who I was and because of that Chloe died and if that wasn't lesson enough, I ran away from you because I didn't want to deal with living with the consequences of what happened. Every time I've had to make a tough choice, I've taken the easiest one and now…"

"Enough," Lois stopped him. "Yes, you _screwed_ up." She wasn't going to pad this for him. If they were going to do this, then they were going to do this right. "You did, okay? I'm not going to deny it but part of being the man you've become is to accept that you've screwed up. If you can't do that then you have nothing in common with the four billion of us who occupy this planet with you. You're human Clark, you maybe able to bend steel and shoot light rays out of your eyes but you are _human_ and humans make mistakes. Living with them is also part of being human, just like forgiveness." She took his face in her hands. "I forgive you and if Chloe were here, she'd forgive you too but none of that means anything if you don't forgive yourself."

Clark pulled her to him, holding her because right now, he needed to feel her against her. He needed forgiveness and he needed to undo the damage he had done, not just to Lex but to Lana and her child. "I love you Lois," he whispered. "The best thing I ever did in my life was figure that out."

"Well," she pulled back and offered him a typically cocky smile, "highlight of your life." She winked. "Come on Smallville, let's go make this right."

Lana walked into her daughter's bedroom having dismissed the babysitter for the night. The little girl was still awake, her small voice echoing in the darkness as she spoke in soft whispers to the stuffed rabbit she was holding above the covers. It often amazed Lana how looking at her little girl having imaginary conversations with a rabbit, called Mr. Fuzzyfeet, was a tonic to revive her soul when it was at its battered worse.

"Mommy," Laura smiled happily. "Are you going to read me a story?"

"I thought Janice read you one already?" Lana pointed out, sitting on the side of the girl's bed. "You trying to trick me into a second?"

Laura giggled. "Mr. Fuzzyfeet said I should try."

"Mr. Fuzzyfeet is sneaky," Lana chuckled, wiping away the last of the tears she had shed on the ride home away.

"He's a rabbit mommy, he _has_ to be sneaky." The girl stared back her at her as if this was the most logical thing in the world.

"Of course he does," she laughed. "Give me a hug baby."

"Why?" the little girl asked as she started to sit up.

"Because mommy needs one," Lana replied and drank in the comfort of her daughter's embrace.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: BARNEY TAKES A TUMBLE

While it had taken Jimmy and Lana careful meandering in the dark to find the body of Lionel Luthor in the collapsed remains of Lex's Section 33.1 facility, Clark was able to lead Lois to it in a matter of minutes. Thanks to his enhanced vision, he was able to see through the dim lighting provided by Lois' torch, the crumbled piles of debris and other obstacles that lay between them and the grisly discovery made this evening.

Holding Lois' hand firmly in his, Clark led the way forward, seeing the path ahead as if he were standing in broad daylight. While he could have flow to the site in seconds, the truth was, he could not be certain if the structure would handle the stress put upon it by the high velocity turbulence that resulted from flight or superspeed. Clark had no fear of the structure crumbling but they would destroy any evidence that could be used to exonerate Lex and after the terrible scene with Lana, Clark wasn't about to take the risk when it would take them only a few minutes longer to reach the same end.

Trying not to think too much on Lana, especially after he allowed Lois' advice to sink into his brain, Clark knew that she was right. He could not let his guilt cripple him. In the past, he had allowed this to become his habit and unfortunately, the result was nothing good. Guilt had not helped him to be any kinder to the people he loved. Instead, it had given him an excuse to push them away.

Keeping his mind focussed on the business at hand, Clark scanned the walls of Section 33.1 and found the chilling evidence of Lex's experiments here. There were skeletons in this place, he thought shuddering inwardly as he explored the passages. More than just Lionel's. As much as he wanted to exonerate Lex for Chloe's death, he couldn't refute Lois' assertion that Lex was never truly an innocent. This place had been the culmination of his obsession that began when his Porsche crashed into the river.

"Can you see anything?" Lois asked, trying to make heads or tails of the place? "All I see is traces of Lex's body and fender shop and its seriously making me question why we are freeing him in the first place."

"Right there with you," Clark frowned, forcing himself to remember the same thing. "I supposed the Construct might have done us a favour by erasing his memories. At least he won't think that Kryptonians are coming to invade the Earth."

"Or know that you're Superman," Lois deadpanned. "Honestly Clark, I wasn't that comfortable with him having that information. Five years locked away in a prison for a crime he didn't commit…this time," she added after a pause. "That can change a person. As badly as you feel about what happened to Lex, not all of that was your fault. Lex has been playing with fire for a long time. It was just a matter of time, he got in over his head."

"True," Clark had to concede the point. "It was Lex that decided to work with Milton Fine in the first place. If he hadn't been trying to figure out the technology of the Black Ship, maybe Fine wouldn't have gotten…." Clark stopped speaking abruptly.

"What?" Lois asked as they came to a section of tunnel that was almost entirely sealed off.

Clark's breath caught in the darkness and Lois felt a chill run down her spine.

"I found Lionel," he said after a long pause. Clark spent a long moment taking in sight of the bleached bones, still swathed in one of the man's expensive suits. There was a time when Clark believed he could never mourn a Luthor, least of all Lionel. However, as he looked all that was left of Lionel Luthor, Clark couldn't help feel a tinge of remorse. After Lionel had been given a second chance of life by being a vessel to Jor-El, the billionaire had tried to be a friend to him. The death of Jonathan had been new at the time for Clark to ever accept Lionel as genuine but eventually he was able to regard Lionel as an ally at least.

Lionel had proved more than once that he was able to put Clark before his own son, further fracturing the relationship between himself and Lex forever. It grieved Clark to know like Chloe, he had been unable to save Lionel.

He was about to turn away when he caught sight of something else, not far away from Lionel under all that debris. It could have been possible that it was right next to Lionel when this placed had been chosen for the billionaire's resting place, the currents and water damage could have shifted much in the time both had been emersed. Clark stared, taking it in, letting the image sink in.

"Lois, he's not alone." Clark declared, staring at the second corpse, in almost the same state of deterioration as Lionel's remains.

"Not alone?" Lois tugged at his sleeve. "What do you mean?" She looked at him mystified when he turned back to her.

"There's another body with him," Clark repeated himself before adding, "by the looks of it, they may have been dumped there together."

"Oh God," Lois exclaimed, feeling her stomach hollow at the idea that they might have found the Construct's killing pen. "Just how many people did that damn thing kill?"

"I don't know," Clark shook his head grimly, feeling similar revulsion. "He's had five years to get very good at it. We've got to get the cops here," he stated firmly. "We've got to get them to exhume the bodies. Lois, this could be it. If we can prove that Lionel has been dead for five year and that someone else has been impersonating him for all that time, they might believe that the same person could have impersonated Lex while killing Chloe."

"No," Lois said quickly, "we can't call the local cops." She spun on her heels, the balls of her feet making a scraping noise as she did a 180 out of the tunnel. "Clark, as Lionel Luthor, he could afford to bribe anyone from here to lose the evidence. No we need someone we can trust to make sure this doesn't get mislaid or worse."

"Okay," Clark could believe that, having dealt with Lex long enough to remember how crafty the Luthors were at avoiding arrest. "You got any ideas?"

"Yeah I do." Lois tossed him a nod as she continued out of the tunnel, skipping over rocks and pieces of rusted scrap at a hasty pace. "I need a signal," she declared, fishing her cell phone out of her jacket, flipping it open and illuminating her face with the soft, blue glow of the display. "I know someone."

"You know someone?" Clark caught up with her. "Who do you know?"

"Smallville," Lois gave him a look of impatience. "I have spent the last five years building up a pretty good reputation as a reporter you know. I've got sources and made contacts in certain places."

Clark didn't doubt it. Her stories involved every thing from mobsters, to corporate cover-ups. Lois had a habit of pissing the wrong people off but he supposed the result of that was making friends with the right people. Following her out of the tunnel, Clark was grateful to be out of there. The smell of death hung off the walls of that place, not simply because they had found bodies there but because of the experiments that had taken place here. Experiments that required hospital beds with arm and legs straps.

Once in the open, Lois noted the signal bars on the phone and immediately started dialling. So far no one was aware of their nocturnal excursion into the disused part of the Smallville dam but after Lois made her call, that was going to change swiftly.

With his enhanced hearing, he heard Lois' mysterious contact answering her call when the ringing tone ended abruptly.

"Maggie!" Lois Lane exclaimed, recognising the dry, smoky voice of Chief Inspector Maggie Sawyer of the Metropolis SCU, a major case squad that had been formed to deal specifically with the growing number of Meteor Generation related crimes. "It's Lois."

"Hey there," Maggie greeted her. "How's Superman's girlfriend these days?" the woman couldn't resist smirking and Lois who knew Clark could hear her conversation, threw the man of steel a look of chagrin.

"Very funny," Lois grumbled before continuing the conversation. "Maggie, I got a problem. I found something in Smallville, something big. I need to turn it over to someone I can trust. Someone who will get it to the DA and not _bury_ it."

"Wait a minute," Maggie almost snorted in disbelief. "Are you okay Lane? Since when do you hand me over any evidence that might be part of some big story before you break it?

Clearly, she knew Lois _well_, Clark thought.

"Maggie, cut the sarcasm okay? I'm serious. I need you and a bunch of cops you trust explicitedly to get over here with a meat van. I've discovered the remains of two bodies whose identities you're not going to believe until you see for yourself. I found them in the abandoned service tunnels of the Smallville damn. They've been here for five years."

Clark could hear the woman pausing.

"Alright Lane," Maggie conceded at last. "I'll believe you but if you're wrong, next time we go out for drinks, I get to pick the place and it's not going to be some line dancing country bar."

Lois winced, perfectly aware that Clark could hear every word they were saying to each other. "Hey you didn't complain when you went home with that cute cowgirl."

"You could have come with us," Maggie smirked on the other end.

"Uh huh," Lois glanced at Clark and saw him grinning like an idiot. "Just get over here," she retorted and ended the call.

"Lois…" he started to say.

"Not one word Smallville" she warned.

"Of course not," he replied. "However, if I had to pick one…."

"Clark!" Lois hurled her notebook at him.

*********

Jimmy should have headed back to Metropolis but after Lana's devastating confrontation with Clark about Lex's innocence, he found himself unable to abandon his partner in crime for the day when the time came to leave. Instead, he waited at the counter of an empty Talon, making himself a coffee and wondering what he could possibly say to the woman after what she had learned today.

"You're still here," Lana said descending the steps when she heard him downstairs.

"Yeah," Jimmy nodded. "Kind of figured you might want to talk."

"Talk," Lana sighed. "Once upon a time, that's all I ever wanted to do. Now, I wondered if I was able capable of listening."

"Sit down," he said pulling up a chair for her. "I know I don't look it but I do a mean latte."

Lana managed a weak smile and nodded, "thank you Jimmy," her eyes misting over with emotion and Jimmy Olsen saw the dazzling beauty that had made CK and Lex such bitter enemies.

"Lana, you couldn't possibly have known," he offered, recognizing what he saw in her face as guilt.

"I know," she nodded, her lips quivering. "But it doesn't make me feel better or change the fact that Laura doesn't know her father. When I was a child, I swore I'd never leave my children, never let them lose a parent the way I did and here I go, doing the very same thing to my own daughter."

"Look, it's not too late," Jimmy retorted. "Who remembers anything at five anyway? I can barely remember anything other than the fact that the Transformers were really cool."

Lana let out a soft laugh, devoid of any humour and she reached over the counter and squeezed Jimmy's hand, gratefully. "Thank you," she said softly. Lana did not feel any better by anything he said but sometimes, it was just nice to have someone listen anyway.

"You know," a voice that was not Jimmy's came between them. "I thought that if I let you alone Lana, you'd stay out of my business."

Both Lana and Jimmy's heads turned at the same time, only to find that the Construct had entered the Talon and was standing only meters away from them. If not for what they knew, neither could have imagined that the man standing before them was anything but Lionel Luthor. Everything about the impersonation was identical to the original. Lana stared at him with new eyes, trying to seek out the clue that would tell her he was false.

There was none.

Yet she knew he wasn't Lionel. She knew it. With every fibre of her being, Lana knew that the skeleton she had found in the dam. _That_ was Lionel. For years she questioned his behaviour, never looking too closely because it suited her well to do so but now she could not longer hide from the truth or herself.

"You are _not_ Lionel." Lana spoke slowly forcing out each word with seething anger.

"Lana," Jimmy cautioned, sensing the woman's emotions were such that she might attempt to do something incredibly ill advised.

"It's alright Mr. Olsen," the Construct responded. "Lana is quite right. I'm not who I appear to be." His voice was dripping with condescension.

Aware of just how much trouble they were in, Jimmy resisted the urge to make any quips, less he provoked the bad guy who had _Superman's_ powers.

"You bastard," Lana hissed, her fury frothing over her ability to restrain herself. "You killed Chloe!"

"A means to an end," the Construct said dispassionately, its features melting then from the visage of Lionel Luthor to the more familiar image of Milton Fine, with his dark hair and cheekbones so sharp, they could like a knife.

Seeing Fine as he truly appeared was all the provocation Lana's precarious balanced sense of outrage could manage.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She screamed running forward.

"LANA NO!" Jimmy shouted but to no avail.

The Construct caught her with one hand before she could even reach him. His hand flew out like a whip and clasped powerful fingers around her throat. Lana felt herself hoisted off her feet, dangling inches off the floor. Clawing at the vise like grip around her throat, she struggled to breathe, coughing and choking.

Jimmy was running at the Construct even before he had sense enough to think better of it. He grabbed a heavy stool and swung it at the sentient AI. The Construct blocked the blow with ease, the stool crumbling against the density of Kryptonian steel like kindling. Jimmy saw the pieces break apart in his hand. He took a step back but never had a chance to get any further than that.

The Construct lashed out with barely a fraction of its power. The blow sent the human flying through the café, through the glass of a window and into the street outside. His violent expulsion from the Talon drew screams of horror and shock from the passers-by on the streets of the small town. Cars came to a halt with a sudden screech as concerned townsfolk came to investigate.

Jimmy was not conscious for any of this.

"JIMMY!" Lana cried out, struggling from breath. "You…you…bastard," she wailed, "_what do you want_?"

"From you?" The Construct stared at her, still holding onto the human female as she were a stray animal he had retrieved. "Nothing. From Kal-El, a great deal. I knew I would never get his cooperation to open the portal to release Zod, not unless I found something of greater value that he would not be able to do without. I thought that I might use Lois Lane and then your husband Lex, found something that made my need for Kal-El obsolete. Of course, he never knew what it was and frankly had I not been monitoring his activities, I might not have discovered it myself."

"What are you talking about?" Lana demanded, finding each breathe a struggle. Holding onto his hands to keep from choking herself, Lana only half listened to the Construct purge his memory for her benefit.

"Naturally, I had to control of the project and that required stepping into Lex's place. However, thanks to Jor-El planting his essence in Lionel Luthor, I could not hope to replace Lex in his life. Furthermore, I had neither the use nor the patience to play husband to _you_. So he simply had to be removed. I had planned to step into Lionel's place and then at a later date, Lex would suffer some unfortunate mishap and that would leave me in charge of Luthorcorp. Unfortunately, when I sought to put my grand scheme into place at the abandoned Section 33.1 facility at the dam, Chloe Sullivan saw me or rather Fine. I could not allow her to reveal my plans to Clark could I?"

"Oh God…" Lana whimpered, blinking fresh tears as the truth was revealed to her in the form of the Gordian knot the Construct had bound Lex with. "You didn't have to kill her," she sobbed. "You didn't have to…"

"If you only knew the prize my dear," the Construct said unaffected by her emotional outburst. "You might disagree…or not." He shrugged.

"So why isn't Zod here?" Lana snapped, trying to keep him talking because that would give her time to think of something else.

"Because Kal-El _left_ and the prize, though valuable was inaccessible to me. It required some one from the House of El to activate it. I would have gone to the Fortress to find the misguided fool but he had vanished completely and so I was trapped in this charade, playing a human of all things. However, I knew he would return. His contamination by his adoptive parents was too complete. All I had to was wait."

Lana however was no longer paying any attention to Fine because she was seeing something even worse than her possible end and that was her _daughter_ staring at her through the wooden rails of the staircase leading down to the Talon from the apartment above. Laura was clutching her doll, her small face contorted in fear. Lana wanted to scream out, to tell her daughter to run but she was too afraid to say a word, too afraid that any action might lead to Fine discovering her presence.

Unfortunately, there were not many things that could be hidden from a Kryptonian, be it human or machine.

"FREEZE!" Someone shouted. "Let her go!"

Oh no, Lana thought frantically. She looked up to see Sheriff Bigelow entering through the door, with his weapon drawn, aiming at Fine. "Get away Ron!" She gasped. "Go!"

The Construct allowed itself a faint smile, its eyes shifting slyly to the intruder before concentrating. A burst of heat vision escaped his eyes with the force of a blast furnace and consumed Sheriff Ronald Bigelow before he had to realise he was about to die horribly. In front of the gathering crowd, he disintegrated before their eyes, his body vanishing into embers of flame as quickly as the shriek he barely got a chance to utter.

"Mommy!" Laura screamed in terror. The girl was too frightened to move and too fearful for her mother to abandon her to the bad man.

"STARBUCK RUN!" Lana screamed back with every breath of air she could muster.

Lana was dropped to the floor suddenly. She hit the floor hard but scrambled to her hands and knees, driven by adrenaline and the ageless fury of a wolf protecting its cub, desperate to reach her daughter before Fine did. However, it was a futile effort. Her powerful instincts were no match for Kryptonian speed and in a blink of an eye, Fine had swept her daughter in his arms.

"MOMMY!" Laura wailed as the Construct lifted off the ground.

"No, please don't!" Lana shouted after him. "Don't take my baby! LAURA! Mommy's coming! Let her go you bastard!" Lana ran up the stairs, trying to gain the elevation that the Construct was achieving to reach her daughter. "YOU'RE HURTING HER!"

Laura's terrified screams continued to rise in pitch as she flew higher above the ground, her small fingers clawing at the air towards her frantic mother. The purple dinosaur tucked under her arm tumbled free amidst of her panic. It landed face up, its sightless staring indifferently to the scene unfolding.

Lana reached the top of the steps, until she was at eye level of Fine finally, "please," she begged. "Let her, I beg you. She's just a baby! SHE'S JUST A BABY!"

The Construct smiled. "Then you had best send Kal-El to _retrieve_ her."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Lana uttered an anguish wail, almost rivalling her child's desperate screams as the Construct smashed through the ceiling, leaving a gaping hole in the roof. Debris and plaster rained down on the Talon floor, covering Lana in dust as she watched her child disappear into the night sky with a murderer.

*********

When he heard the scream that seemed to reach through the night like a banshee's wail, Clark Kent knew that it was Lana.

They were waiting at the dam for the arrival of Maggie Sawyer and the officers of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit when suddenly a scream so fierce and piercing, reached his ears without his even needing to focus to receive it. Long ago, Clark had learned how to filter out the thousands of sounds his super-hearing allowed him to receive in order to function without going mad from the noise. After his five years of training, his control was almost absolute and he kept the voices, the sounds, and the constant din of civilisation to a low drone in his head.

However, Lana's scream had sliced through that barrier with ease.

"Something's wrong," he whispered, his eyes following the direction of that tortured cry.

"What?" Lois demanded and then the realisation sunk in. "Clark," she stared at him with a fading pallor, "_Jimmy and Lana. _"

Before she could even finish the sentence, she was in the air with him, streaking across the sky, with the wind rushing through her hair and the town of Smallville growing large in the distance. It took barely ten seconds for the journey to be completed by which time, Clark found a landing spot a short distance from the Talon. Hurrying towards the local landmark, there was no doubt of the catastrophe that had taken place. People were gathered around the smashed front window, sidestepping broken glass and wood. Police cars were parked along the kerb, red strobes spinning their caution in all direction. The doors to the paramedic van in front of the Talon were splayed open and Clark saw two EMTs lifting a stretcher into the back.

It took only a second to realise who was being ferried away.

"Jesus, its Jimmy." Clark whispered.

"Jimmy?" Lois gasped. "What do you mean Jimmy?" She was racing forward before Clark could tell her anything further.

Lois Lane raced to the side of her best friend who was quite unconscious on the stretcher. She gasped as she saw the terrible bruising and cuts on his face. His neck and head was held in place by emergency braces.

"Oh my God," she cried out, covering her hand with her mouth in shock. "Jimmy! Can you hear me Jimmy?" Lois demanded of the unconscious photographer as he was being loaded onto the back of the van. "Is he going to be alright? Tell me something damnit!"

"Miss you need to step back," one of the paramedics warned her gently. "He's alive but we need to get him to the hospital _right_ now. He may have serious head and spinal injuries."

"Oh Jimmy," Lois was trying hard not to cry for that was an utterly useless thing to do right now. However, for once she was too afraid to interfere lest she made things worse for Jimmy. She stepped back into Clark and turned around to embrace him hard, needing the comfort. Clark watched Jimmy through the doors of the ambulance, even after they were sealed to the world, trying to crush the fury inside of him so he could think rationally. His father often said that human emotions were a weakness.

This time for once, Jor-El was right.

"We have to find Lana," Lois said disengaging herself from him and hurried into the ruined mess of Talon.

Pieces of mortar, brick and other materials were strewn across the floor of the café. Police officers were crowded around what appeared to be a charred mess in the middle of floor. The stench turned Lois' stomach. Clark followed behind her, his x-ray vision having already shown him what had transpired here much to his own horror.

Lois saw Lana seated on steps leading to the upstairs apartment. Someone had draped a jacket over her shoulders. "Lana." She called out.

Lana lifted her eyes to Lois' and the expression the reporter from Metropolis saw, made her stomach churn even worse than the smell in the place.

"Lana, what happened?" Lois asked, even though it seemed like a stupid question.

"Fine was here," Lana answered mechanically.

"Oh Christ," Lois gasped and then realised something else. Jimmy was hurt but _alive_. Lana appeared seemingly unharmed…but she seemed like a woman numb from shock. Then Lois caught sight of Barney in the middle of the floor and truth hit her so strongly that her heart almost stopped.

"Lana, where is _Laura? _" She was almost afraid to ask.

Lana stood up and brushed past her, not answering. Turning around, Lois saw that Lana was walking up to Clark, her expression unreadable.

"He took her because of you! He said that if I wanted her back, tell Kal-El to come get her!" Lana hissed, her words felt like blows against his skin.

"Lana, I'm so sorry," Clark found himself saying for the second time this day. How much more would he put her through today? How much more could Lana lose before she broke into more pieces then could be mended?

"Sorry? That monster has my baby!" Lana screamed, "she's just a little girl Clark!" She wept, pounding her firsts against his chest in frustration and fury. Clark did nothing to stop her, ignoring the physical blows when the mental ones did far more damage to his invulnerable skin. Lana's desperate outrage melted into tormented sobs of anguish as Clark wrapped his arms around her and held her.

"Please Clark," she sobbed into his shoulder, tears of anguish and desperation soaking his t-shirt. "Bring her home to me. She's all that I have, bring my baby home!" She broke down in his arms at last.

Clark blinked and looked across to Lois, who eyes were filled with tears as well. The thought of that sweet little girl with the fairies on her wall paper and her love of penguins in the clutches of the Construct felt as terrible as knowing that it had killed Chloe.

"We'll get her back Lana," Lois said firmly, sucking up her own emotions and being strong for the man she loved and her friend. She placed a gentle arm on Lana's shoulder and squeezed, willing that strength into the crushed woman as best she could. Clark covered Lois' hand with his, never loving her more than at this moment.

"I promise you," he whispered quietly to both of them. "I'll won't let him hurt her."

And he _meant_ it.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: CONFRONTATION

"How the hell did we get here?" Lana Lang demanded as she pulled her coat closer to her skin.

"Magic carpet ride through the caves," Lois answered as she held her ground, trying to steady her footing as she stared across the icy, snow covered plains. Even though it was night, her eyes danced with the glow of the northern lights in the distance. If their need to be here was no so urgent, she might have enjoyed the scenery.

"Why didn't Clark come with us?" Lana asked impatiently.

"You know why," Lois replied tautly and started walking forward, trudging through the snow.

Even though it was more than five years since she had made this trip, Lois Lane was not looking forward to this. She was here because she had to be, because Clark needed her to do this and because Laura's life depended on it. Moving across the icy plain, she ignored Lana's questions, paying enough heed to the woman to ensure that Lana was keeping up with her.

"Where are we going?" Lana demanded again, growing more and more annoyed at Lois' silence, too full of her own fears for her daughter to recognise that Lois was suffering her own conflicts as she proceeded ahead.

"Look you wouldn't wait in the car," Lois retorted, not looking over her shoulder, "so just follow me and don't ask questions. You'll figure it out soon enough."

"I should have gone with Clark," Lana retorted. "If he's going to get Laura, I should have gone with him." There was a hint of petulance in her voice.

Lois saw the shimmering light emanating beyond the crest of the hill she was walking up briskly. She steeled herself for it and held her breath as the last few steps were taken. Finally as she reached the crest of the hill, Lois was bathed in dazzling white light as she fixed her gaze forward.

"What are….oh my god," Lana's annoyed sentenced dissipated abruptly into wonder as she stared at the Fortress. For a few seconds she could do nothing but gape at the structure, a palace constructed from ice and crystal, with tall shimmering spires, crisscrossing each other, producing a glow of unearthly light that lit the whole landscape. It made the northern lights seem dull in comparison.

"What is it?" Lana whispered, catching up with Lois.

"That," Lois said with no small hint of bitterness. "Is the fortress."

Something in Lois' tone made Lana hold back the rest of her questions although she continued to stare in awe as they neared the structure. For the moment at least, her thoughts was not entirely occupied with Laura's abduction. She had yet to decide if this was a good thing.

When Clark had told Lois they needed to get help, she couldn't understand why they were going to the Kawatche Caves. Luthor Corp had relinquished its interest in the site after Lex's arrest and Lionel had returned its administration to the remnants of the Kawatche people who lived in the area. Since then, Lana had not given the place a second thought. However, when Lois was told to get help, Lana was determined to take part despite Lois' initial refusal of her assistance.

In the end, Lana refused to be swayed and so all three of them had gone to the caves with Clark leading them through the catacomb like tunnels. Both of them had been enigmatic, with Clark saying very little in the way of explanation. At first, Lana thought that it might have tied to the truth of about himself but now that she thought about it, Lana suspected that he didn't speak of it because Lois did not wish to be there.

They had reached an alcove of rock that lead nowhere and once again, Lana plied him with questions that he somehow managed not to answer. However, explanations were not needed when he put his hand on the rock and something happened to the wall that filled the dark space with white light. Lois had taken her hand and pulled her to the source of it. There was an indescribable sensation as she passed through the stone, like her body was being taken apart, piece by piece.

Perhaps like being born in the world.

However, when she blinked again, the caves were gone and they were here.

"What is this place Lois?" Lana asked again as the structure loomed over them tall and imposing.

Lois let out a deep breath, her cheeks stinging from the cold as she glared at the fortress. How could something so beautiful be the cause of so much pain? Her emotions were choked with anger. As furious as she had been with Clark, what this place represented, what it taken from both of them, made that anger pale in comparison. Five years ago, she had wanted nothing more than to find this place, to find Clark and bring him back to his life but DNA had made that impossible. Now she was here at last and all she could feel was this loathing for what it might take from them again. As long as this stood, there was always the chance Clark could vanish from her life again.

And yet as much as she hated the fortress, it was all that Clark had left of his past and for that she couldn't wish for it its destruction, no matter how much she want otherwise.

"Its Clark's home," Lois answered after a long pause. "This is what's left of Krypton." Turning to Lana for the first time, she said with a resigned sigh. "If there's a way to stop Fine _permanently_, it will be here."

Lana nodded, appreciating the explanation. "Lois, are you okay?" She asked, brushing her fingertips against Lois' shoulder in a gesture of concern.

Knowing that Lana's anxieties must surely be focussed on her child, that tiny bit of kindness went a long way to disarming Lois' dark mood. "I'm fine," she answered truthfully, as they walked beneath the intertwining spires of the fortress. "This is where Clark came after he left Smallville; this is where he did his training."

"Training?" Lana asked.

Of course, she wouldn't know Lois realised. Lana only had pieces of information regarding Kal-El and his destiny. She knew he was of Krypton and that it was a world destroyed but she didn't know that his destiny had been written long before he arrived on this planet. Sometimes, Lois didn't know what she hated most, the fact that he had a destiny at all or that he had never been given a choice in the matter.

"Yeah Daddy Joe has big plans for Clarkie before he got to this burg," she said unable to hide her resentment. "Apparently, you can take the boy out of Krypton but you can't keep the Krypton _away_ of the boy."

Lana wanted to ask more but suspected she had stumbled right into the heart of Lois' insecurities about Clark's alien heritage. Uncertain if this was the time to have a heart to heart conversation on the subject, Lana let it go for now, having learnt her lesson a long time ago about pushing too deeply when one had secrets to keep.

Lois led Lana to the main floor of the fortress and tried to imagine how Clark had spent five years in this cold, sterile place. How had he lived? There were so many questions about those years that Lois wanted to ask Clark. However, those answers would have to wait until later. The Construct had done enough damage and might yet do more if they did not stop it.

"I'm going to try and talk to him," Lois replied, glancing at Lana before sweeping her gaze across the length of the fortress.

"_Him? _" Lana stared at her bewilderment.

"Jor-El," Lois answered after a moment. "Clark's father."

Anything else Lana had to say was cut short when she heard Lois shouted into thin air. "Jor-El! I'm here for Kal-El!"

She had spoken to Jor-El once before when Fine had injected Clark with red kryptonite and had precipitated the escape of Zod into the world, using Oliver Queen's body. Then Jor-El or Fortress Joe as she had called him seemed like Clark's very own Yoda. She hadn't yet realised then that she risked losing Clark to the fortress, not until he was gone and it was too late to do anything about it.

"JOR-EL!" She shouted again, indignant with outrage that she had to be here, once again as supplicant. "KAL-EL NEEDS YOUR HELP!"

Lana watched this strange ritual, not certain what to think but remaining silent because like any mother; she was willing to let things play out if it meant getting her daughter back. She wanted to ask Lois whom she was talking to when suddenly…

LOIS LANE. IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME.

"Yeah well not long enough," she muttered, upon hearing Fortress Joe's voice echoing through the halls. "Clark needs your help," she declared, her resentment making her to refer to Clark instead of Kal-El. "He needs to know how to destroy the Construct."

"Who is that?" Lana sneaked up behind Lois and whispered into her ear.

"Clark's father," Lois shot back at Lana before addressing Jor-El again. "The Construct has been living as a human for the last five years, he's kidnapped Lana's daughter."

THAT IS UNFORTUNATE. KAL-EL SHOULD HAVE COME HERE HIMSELF TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO DESTROY IT.

"Well he can't!" Lois spat almost. "He's out there trying to save a child."

THE NEEDS OF ONE DO NOT OUTWEIGH THE NEEDS OF THE MANY.

"What?" Lana found her voice, hearing her child discussed so clinically. "Is he really in there?" She asked Lois before realising she really didn't know what _'in there'_ actually meant. "She's my daughter!" She barked back at the unseen but omniscient presence. "She's not some statistic that's ready to be written off! She's my child!"

THE DESTRUCTION THE CONSTRUCT CAN CAUSE TO YOUR WORLD MAY HARM MILLIONS. IS ONE LIFE ANY MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT?

"I won't let her die! You can help her!" Lana exclaimed, "She's just a baby."

Lois thought hard, listening to the cold words and knew that this was a moot argument. It didn't matter if Clark was here or not, the fact was they needed help to stop the Construct and Fortress Joe was the only who could do it. Star Trek quotes not withstanding. However, if it wanted to argue semantics than Lois could do that just as well.

"Jor-El," she bade Lana to be quiet for a moment. "If that's really you speaking and not some program left behind to keep Clark on the straight and narrow, you of all people should know what a person would do to save their child. You chose to send your son to Earth in the face of billions dying. Were you able to sacrifice him anymore than you expect Lana to sacrifice her daughter? You are living proof of what a parent is willing to do ensure the safety of their child, how can you be Jor-El, _father_ of Kal-El if you can't understand that?"

There was no answer and Lois for all her anger and loathing of the Fortress, knew that some aspect of Jor-El was in the crystal structure left behind for Kal-El. What the man was had died with his world but Lois hoped the best of him, the part that wanted to save his son more anything could sill be reached through that somewhat elegant but too often ruthless voice that mimicked his presence.

"Please Jor-El," Lois spoke with genuine emotion, "help us."

************

It was a cool night in Metropolis.

Abel Munroe sat with his cup of coffee, brewed freshly from the little percolator he had behind the counter of the small newsstand sitting on the sidewalk, overlooking the Luthorcorp building. The man had had occupied this same space for something in the space of twenty years and it was with a great sense of pride that he managed to hold onto his little piece of Metropolis while around him the world evolved like some living organism into something unrecognizable. The newsstand was his kingdom and for those who stopped here on the way to work or in transit to other places, grabbing a newspaper from Abel was part of their daily ritual.

In twenty years, Abel had seen many things in his city change but had to confess that despite it all, Metropolis was still the greatest city in the world.

It wasn't a sewer like Gotham, wasn't all flash and glitter like Central City or even a try hard like Coast City. Metropolis was the grand dame, older and wiser, yet managing to maintain her dignity and her history. Abel liked that about it. Sitting outside the newsstand, with coffee in his hand, watching people go by, if he lived out his last hour this way, he would die a contented man.

On this particular evening, the pulse of Metropolis had no less abated with the setting of the sun. Either folks were on their way home from work or off to dinner, to night clubs or to movies, doing all the things that was a constant for the city night life. Abel had a few paused to buy papers, while some were perusing the magazines on the racks. He was indulging in his favourite past time of 'naming that new car' and had so far identified a Dodge Caliber, Honda Fit and a Nissan Versa when suddenly the top copy on the stack of newspapers beside him began to furl at the edges as a sudden gust of wind rushed by.

The furls became rolling curls and then the paper lifted off the stack entirely, swept away by the wind down the sidewalk. On the street, people had stopped walking and Abel saw their eyes staring upward at the night sky. Abel stood up and stepped out into the side walk to see what had drawn their attention. Of course, he should have known. Only one thing could make the city stop dead in its tracks today.

Superman.

Citizens were frozen as they watched the 'Man of Steel' surging across the sky above the busy streets of Metropolis, bringing traffic to a halt, forcing people out of shops, staring at his passage with open mouth astonishment. Office workers pressed themselves against the windows of their buildings as they watched him fly past. Other people waved and cheered at the sight that was becoming as a part of Metropolis as the Daily Planet and the Comets. Dirt and trash from the gutters tossed about in the whirlwind left behind as Superman flew towards the LuthorCorp building. He flew to the base of the building and angled sharply, moving up in a vertical ascent towards the penthouse, his cape billowing behind him.

Clark was already scanning the building as he moved past it. X-ray vision was searching every room, every stairwell and lift junction for any trace of the girl. In the end, there was only one way to get it out of the Construct and for now, he had to play the script written until Lois did her part and they could put their end game into play. He saw no traces of the child but in truth, Clark didn't expect the Construct to keep Laura anywhere near him. He wanted something from Kal-El and the best way to do that was to make him squirm.

Years ago such a ploy might have worked but no more. Five years ago, his human emotions allowed him to be manipulated with ease but the Clark Kent who returned from the Fortress was not the same person. There were aspects of him he kept, his love for his mother, for Lois, his humanity but there was wisdom in recognizing that not everything Jor-El had tried to teach him was to his detriment. Some of it was important because he was a Kryptonian and try as he might to think himself otherwise, he could not escape the fact.

To keep the people he loved safe, he had to be Kryptonian or he'd be no good to anyone, as he had been no good to Chloe when she had needed him most.

Reaching the top of the penthouse, Clark hovered in mid air above the balcony as he observed Lionel Luthor sitting behind a desk in the suite. The outer walls of the penthouse were made of glass but he had no fear of being observed since the Luthorcorp building was one of the tallest in Metropolis. As expected, there was no one else on the floor. The girl wasn't here but then Clark had never expected her to be. She was nothing more than bait to draw him out. Lionel sat behind his desk, his hands steepled beneath his chin as he stared through the walls directly at Clark.

Lionel, Clark snorted. Lionel was dead.

The Construct expected him to charge but Clark would not do that. The days when he would rush in where angels feared to thread were over. He learned that not only from the Fortress but also from Bruce Wayne. Narrowing his eyes in expectation of the trap the Construct had almost certainly set, Clark's x-ray vision surveyed the room to ensure there were no surprises. It didn't take him long to detect the lead compartment in his desk. Even if Clark couldn't see what was inside of it, he could guess. Lead was the only substance through which he could not see, if the Construct wanted to conceal meteor rocks from him, there was no better receptacle.

His heat vision sliced through the glass wall separating him from the balcony, shattering it into fragments that sprayed across the floor. The Construct did not move as the blast of heat landed on its desk, turning it into a charred mess and melting the lead until it had encased whatever contents were in its compartment into a solid chunk of dark metal. If there was Kryptonite there, it was for the moment harmless.

"Kal-El," the Construct said smoothly as he walked through the fiery remnants of his desk, unconcerned at the flames. The fire suppression systems was already screaming throughout the building and by the time 'Lionel' emerged through the opening where a glass wall had been, onto his balcony, he was soaking wet. "The prodigal son returns."

"Where is she?" Clark retorted, not about to waste time with pleasantries.

"Who?" The Construct said innocently.

Clark didn't waste much time and turned on his heat vision at the Construct, who was hit with the full force of it, throwing him back into the penthouse suite, the expensive Armani suit burning away into nothingness as the Construct hit into the wall. Losing its substance for an instance as the heat liquefied it to its natural state. Clark didn't give it a chance to recoup and flew towards the Construct at top speed. Only seconds away from impact, the Construct pulled itself together and sped away wearing its own form, exploding out another glass wall that overlooked the street below.

Clark saw the deadly hail of glass raining down on the people below and immediately flew beneath the descending fragments. Another blast of heat vision and every tiny fragment burned up before it could reach the ground and harm anyone. On the street level, people were still staring at Superman, pointing up to the sky in realisation that something was happening that was more than their local hero doing a fly by.

"You're still weak Kal-El!" The Construct shouted as it slammed into him in mid air, sending Clark into the side of another office building. He demolished a wall and kept going, through office walls, past the startled screams of people occupying the floor and out again to the other side, debris and mortar following him out and then into a cascade below.

"As long as you care about them, you'll always be weak!" The Construct shouted triumphantly and Clark knew that even if the Construct was wrong, he couldn't let the people below be harmed. Fortunately, the noise had given them some alert and the bystanders were running for cover. Of course, not all of them made it and one woman who had tripped on her high heels was screaming as she tried to scramble out of the way. She soon found herself swept away by Superman who deposited her safely on the other side of the road as the barrage of brick and mortar crashed noisily onto the side walk, demolishing the store behind it.

The Construct landed in the middle of the road and waited for him. "Five years I've been trapped in this shell of meat and bone, waiting for you to arrive. If I had known killing Chloe Sullivan was going to drive you into the ground Kal-El, I might have reconsidered. I knew you were weak but I had no idea you were a coward as well. You run like a frightened child runs at the first sight of trouble. If I had a constitution to feel sickened, I would be repulsed by the fact that all that is left of Krypton is you. What a waste!"

The Construct picked up a car at super speed and flung it at Clark. The couple who were driving past had no idea what had happened until they were hoisted off the tar road and flung forward. It travelled forward on its side, the metal paintwork scraping against the ground as headlights shattered and metal buckled. Clark caught the vehicle before it could slam into another parked car, flipping it onto its four wheels and setting it down safely. Once it was done, he tore away the passenger side door and tossed it way.

"Get clear," he ordered the terrified duo within it.

"Superman, watch out!" A man across the street shouted in warning as Clark turned around and saw the Construct coming at him with street light ripped from the concrete. The woman in the car screamed in fright.

Wasting no time, Clark flew towards the Construct before it could reach him or the humans he had just rescued, grabbing the streetlight as it was swung at him and held on fast. Spinning it in mid air, he flipped the construct over his head and crushed the Kryptonian AI into the bitumen road, creating an impact crater. Tossing away the streetlight onto the floor, Clark demanded off Brainiac again.

"WHERE IS SHE?"

"She is not your concern Kal-El," the Construct came at him, throwing a punch that Clark was able to stop but the force of it against his palm was like a sonic boom and the sound echoed throughout the flanking buildings, shattering windows as the sound barrier broke on ground level. Clark held on to the Construct's fist and swung him over his shoulder like a rag doll, smashing him against the pavement.

"Where is she?" Clark demanded again.

"Destroy me and you'll never find out!" The Construct hissed. "There is only one way you will retrieve her and you now how."

"That is not going to happen," Clark declared. "I'll find out, it's just going to take a little longer."

The Construct was unaccustomed to the physical combat and the techniques being employed by Kal-El were combat skills that were not of Krypton. As they traded blows, throwing punches so powerful that windows were exploding because of the sonic boom and the buildings were shaking with each thunderclap of noise, the Construct calculated the probabilities that Kal-El had learned such combat while undergoing Kryptonian training.

The probabilities did not support the evidence.

The Construct considered other possibilities as it battled Kal-El, feeling the ground beneath him crumble as another punch sent him through the road into the sewer below. During their first encounter, Zod had been able to defeat Kal-El because the boy was inexperienced and almost totally ignorant about his Kryptonian heritage. That was no longer the case. As the Brain Interactive Construct began to realise that not even Zod might be able to handle a fully grown Kal-El of Krypton, a random sensation filled its consciousness for the first time.

Panic.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: WEAKNESS

"What's the fastest way out of town?" Lois asked Lana as they sped through the darkened road leading away from the Kawatche caves little more than an hour after their audience with Fortress Joe. Lois was pushing hard against the accelerator of Jimmy's black Impala, feeling the engine rev furiously beneath the hood as she sped towards Metropolis. She had been a passenger in the vehicle numerous times before but this was the first time she was driving the car herself. At the time of its purchase, Lois remembered thinking that the car was more than Jimmy could handle. It was big, burned up too much gas and was a classic example of an American heavy metal automobile. However, it was love at first sight when Jimmy saw the thing and Lois didn't have the heart to tell him that guys who wore bow ties drove Hyundais not Impalas.

Driving the car now only reminded Lois why Jimmy wasn't and that made her accelerate even faster.

"Just stay on this road and turn onto Collison," Lana answered automatically, having been a resident of Smallville long enough to know how to navigate its rural roads with expertise. She paid no mind to the speed Lois was driving, for once not at all alarmed by what Chloe used to describe as Mad Dog Lane on the road. The faster they got to Metropolis, the closer they got to getting Laura back and right now, nothing mattered more to Lana Lang. "That will take us to the highway."

"Good," Lois nodded, looking through the rear view mirror to see the silvery object resting against the leather of the back seat. Even without the Kryptonian inscription, it looked alien and Lois wasn't certain how Clark would react upon learning the price of acquiring the object. "The sooner we get to Metropolis the better. Maggie Sawyer should have excavated the bodies at the dam already. With any luck, she's already heading back to the city to run forensics."

"Do you trust her?" Lana inquired, aware of how powerful the Luthors could be and how deeply their influence ran. The evidence that they had discovered at the dam could prove Lex's innocence and now that they had acquired the judicial Holy Grail as far as his freedom was concerned, Lana was at her most anxious that Lione… or rather the Construct would find some way to ruin it.

"I trust her," Lois replied without hesitation. "Maggie is attached to SCU – Metropolis' Special Crimes Unit. The team was set up a few years ago," the Daily Planet reporter explained. "When Chloe outed the Meteor Generation, she also outed the meteor infected who had been committing crimes. SCU was created to deal with paranormal crime. Even if we can't explain away that the Construct is an alien AI, we could probably make a pretty strong case for him being a meteor infected criminal capable of shape shifting."

"Someone who was capable of impersonating Lex for the tapes," Lana nodded in understanding.

"It's the best evidence we have," Lana threw her a glance and then faced front again. Letting out a breath, she added quietly. "Lana for what it's worth, I'm sorry that I was the one who dropped the axe on Lex. I swear at the time, with the evidence provided by Lionel… I mean the Construct; I really believed he did it."

Lana did not look at Lois, her eyes fixed instead on the windscreen and the darkened road beyond the hood of the car. That piece of truth was an open wound inside her heart and each time she thought of those letters she never read, the calls she would not take and the desperate attempts to reach her, Lana felt the wound weep a little more. She was angry with Clark, furious in fact but in truth, it was her own self-loathing that hurt the most.

"Lois, I believed it too." She confessed after a moment. "There is a side of Lex that is shadowy and frightening. I was never blind to it but he wanted to so much to be a better man that I couldn't bring myself to turn away. Whatever else he might be, he loved me. Of that, I never had any doubt but I could not forget what he was either. When I saw the images of Chloe's death, I was convinced that I had forgotten and because I did, my best friend was dead."

"Love makes us do crazy things Lana," Lois let out rueful laugh. "I am sure not the one to throw stones at your choices when mine before Clark and even after Clark haven't been the greatest."

Lana was about to answer when a stray glance through the side window drove all other thought from her mind. "Lois, stop!"

The intensity of that demand made Lois obey without question but as the car stopped abruptly, Lois' questions started. "What Lana?"

"There are lights at the Luthor Mansion." Lana retorted, staring at the dim lights in the distance. How many times had she seen those same lights emanating through the night from this road, since the Luthors took up residence. First when she was just a teenager befriending the young mogul and then later when she became his wife.

"So?" Lois didn't see the importance. "Probably the caretakers or something," she dismissed the observation wanting to get going again.

"No," Lana shook her head. "Lionel… I mean Fine had the place closed up after the divorce when I made it clear I wasn't going to live there. There are caretakers looking after the grounds but not the house. Someone's in there."

"So who's in there?" Lois asked aloud.

"Maybe Fine," Lana declared.

"And if he _is_?" Lois countered. "What do we do then? Lana we can't take him on and giving him two extra targets won't help Clark beat him."

Lana wasn't listening, she was already opening the door of the car, "my daughter could be there!" She exclaimed, latching onto any hope. "Fine wouldn't take Laura to LuthorCorp, there would be too many questions. If he wanted some place to hide her, while he made demands of Clark to free Zod, why not here?" She pointed to the silhouette of the mansion in the distance.

"Lana think about this…." Lois took the woman's hand, trying to calm her down. "We won't help Laura if we go rushing in."

"Lois I can't leave her if she's here," Lana pleaded with her. "She's my baby."

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Lois found herself caving. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Lois said firmly. "We'll go look and if she's not there, we high tail it out of there and head to Metropolis right? If she _is_ there, we get the hell away and call Clark. Are we agreed?" Lois said to her firmly.

"Yes," Lana nodded, giving into that much reason. Lois was right, they needed to be sure that Laura was here first.

"Alright," Lois let out a sigh and started the car, "let's see if we can't get any closer before we have to walk it."

This was such a bad idea…

****************

Fetid water splashed beneath his red boots when Clark landed in the open crater of a demolish sewer tunnel. Using his x-ray vision, he scanned the network of tunnels surrounding the crash site of where the Construct had landed after he had punched the Kryptonian AI through several feet of concrete and tar. The dank water swirled around his ankles as he stepped forward, searching for the enemy who had taken refuge in the darkness.

There was no sound, just the slosh of water against the sides of the sewer walls as he moved. He had come here to retrieve Laura Luthor because he had promised Lana that he would but when he faced the Construct, Clark realised there was something else he wanted almost as much. Not vengeance. Not payback. None of those dark emotions that tainted a life but something pure, something deserving.

Clark wanted justice, justice for Chloe.

He loved her. Not as a lover but he had loved her. She was the first person who told him that he was a hero and almost made him believe it. In his darkest moments, when the confusion and the conflicts about Lana had driven him to think he was lesser man for it, Chloe had reminded him who he was. She had given him strength and even though he couldn't love her the way she had wanted, he adored her still. She was his family as much as Martha or Jonathan Kent, as much as Jor-El and Lara even.

The Construct took her from his life and Clark wanted it to pay for that because her loss hadn't just affected his existence but that of Lois, Lex, Lana and that little girl who did not know her father. Not to mention Bruce. Dear God, Clark still couldn't face Bruce. No, before this day was out, all those broken lives would have justice. Clark swore on everything he was, both human and Kryptonian, that he would see to it.

In the sewer however, Clark saw nothing. The Construct had seemingly vanished. There was no sound except murky water, swirling around his boots, exuding all kind of repugnant odours, carrying litter, insects and all the refuse of human civilisation. Then Clark remembered with whom he was dealing with and paused in his steps. His cape swaying inches above the wet.

"I know you're here," Clark said coldly. "I can't see you but I know you're here."

Blue eyes blazed with red as his heat vision began boiling the stench-filled moisture. The waters around him began to sizzle and then boil, sending waves upon waves of thick fog into the air above. The tunnels became thick with it but Clark did not stop, he continued pouring more and more heat into the water until the steam rising became scalding hot, peeling the grime from the walls, causing insects and other vermin to flee.

Clark studied every one that scurried away, knowing that eventually what he sought would emerge. Overhead, helicopters had begun to circle the area above the crater, watching the fight like carrions birds picking at the corpses in the wake of a battle. Clark droned out these noises, he was seeking something more specific. He listened, filtering the excited voices of the people above, the automobiles and their machines whirring, grinding, circling the melee.

Then he heard it.

Something moving in the darkness. Not quite solid but not liquid either. It took a fraction of a second for Clark to find it, smashing in three tunnels walls to get to the junction where a series of tunnels met, to see the Construct rising out of the water, its dark metallic form forced into shape because of the receding waters. Prometheus like, it straightened up into the form of a man when Clark arrived.

"It seems as if you the training with Jor-El wasn't entirely wasted," Fine spoke, wearing his own features for once. "However, for all your efforts, you're still one of them beneath it all. You're still human."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Clark returned sarcastically, his eyes fixed on the Construct waiting for its next mood. The thing had underestimated him, had assumed that based on his previous pattern of behaviour that he would be subject to manipulation to retrieve Laura. However, Clark knew that the girl had to be alive because he wasn't the only one with a weakness. While humanity was his, Brainiac's was his slavish duty to Zod. While the girl lived, the Construct could use her so that Clark could be coerced with into freeing Zod.

"It is when I can easily changed the odds to put you at a disadvantage," the Construct declared, leaping into the air and creating another gapping hole through the street it emerged.

Clark wasted no time following the Construct out into the street above and saw the bus that had been flipped onto its side when the enemy exploded out from beneath. Ignoring the Construct, Clark suspected it wouldn't go far, he immediately hurried to the bus that had landed on its side, filled with terrified passengers. Refusing to cause them any more injuries by placing it right side up, Clark instead ripped off the roof so that they could escape safely. The bus driver was trapped behind the wheel and Clark ripped him free in a second.

"Weakness Kal-El!" The Construct shouted, landing a few meters away from the damaged vehicle. "In an instant I can change the odds by putting these humans in danger."

"Go kick this guy's ass Superman!" A teenager shouted from the group of stunned passengers.

A man, in a business suit, somewhat rumpled for the experience, stepped forward with another middle-aged man in a custodial uniform, hollering out, "Go Superman! We'll get the bus driver help."

Clark stared for a moment, finding courage in the most unlikely people. Clark watched for a fraction of second, the two men stepping forward bravely to help, the teenager giving his arm to the old woman and younger woman ushering the children to safety. Feeling a sense of pride for the first time at being their Superman, Clark turned to the Construct and said with utter conviction.

"These humans are worth dying for. My father understood that. That's why he sent me here."

_They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show them the way._

Jor-El had said those words, so out of place from his usual rhetoric of destiny and human emotions. It was the only words that Clark had kept with him, the only ones that gave him some sense of the man who had sacrificed everything to give him life on this world.

"Then save them," the Construct said viciously, "if you can."

The Construct took to the air again, this time he flew up the main street, flanking two of Metropolis' heaviest populated areas, turning his heat vision against the buildings as he flew past. Like a laser cutting through brick, concrete and metal, Clark watched the fires that ignited as a result. Lamp posts were cut in half, trees slice at the bark toppled onto the streets, crashing into parked cars, while power lines sparked across the road, causing cars to crash and other chaos.

Jaw tensing with concentration, allowing none of the anger the Construct was trying to provoke reach him, Clark sped after it, not in pursuit but to repair the damage it was wreaking upon his city. Blowing super breath on the buildings caught alight by heat vision, he extinguished the flames before they could become an inferno that would set entire city blocks ablate. Listening carefully to the cries of those in trouble, Clark halted his progress to sever the live wires, to stop cars careening out of control from colliding with pedestrians or other vehicles. Once he was certain that the immediate danger had passed, Clark turned his attention back to the Construct who had doubled back.

"How can you think to defeat me Kal-El when you can't even let these humans perish?" The Construct taunted while hovering in mid air over Metropolis Square, sending hundred scattering in panic as he brandished his latest bit of mischief. A WGBS new chopper whose occupants were still very much alive inside the cockpit. Viciously, he flung the chopper at the crowd. The whoop whoop of propellers created a vortex of wind that sent everything on the ground through the air. People were running away in terror as the projectile spiralled towards them and Clark exploded forward in a burst of speed that set off another sonic boom.

Around him, even the air slowed as he moved faster than sound, not nearly as fast as light but close enough. To passers by, he was vanished from their seeing with the blink of an eye, reappearing barely a second later, when he caught the top of the helicopter as the blades impacted off his body. The sharp metal blades shattered again his invulnerably dense form, spinning out of control towards the ground. Maintaining his hold off the chopper, Clark turned his heat vision at the falling shards of metal and incinerated them in mid air. What rained down upon the scattering crowds was little more than ash.

The Construct was calculating its options, delaying with escalating acts of violence. It was trying to compute a proper course of action, one that would lead to the outcome required but more and more, the paths were dwindling.

"You're stalling!" Clark called out to it as he lowered the helicopter to the square, ensuring that the two people inside the aircraft did not require immediate medical attention that a paramedic bus couldn't provide.

"You delude yourself with unfounded assumptions!" The Construct shouted, coming to the conclusion that putting these humans in danger would not yield the results he required. "You will not destroy me Kal-El. You can't. Not if you wish to know why I decided to kill Chloe."

"I already know why!" Clark leapt into the air, leaving the square and the helicopter behind as the Construct started flying away from the scene. This time, it didn't appear to be heading back into the city and was instead moving rapidly across the urban sprawl of Metropolis. Clark accelerated, once again crossing the city at speeds that would make fighter jets envious. Thunderclaps followed his bursts of speed, just like the whirlwind behind him. Gale force winds sent papers, leaves and litter scattering through the air. Window shutters rattled noisily and trees bent to breaking point.

The Construct headed for the outskirts of the city, leaving Metropolis behind, convinced beyond the calculations and probabilities that success was still within reach. It came to the conclusion that a subject closer to the heart, was what was needed to make Kal-El yield.

Someone like Lois Lane.

With Kal-El in pursuit, the Construct began its journey towards Smallville.

*************

The car pulled up a good half a mile from the Luthor Mansion and as much as Lois loathed to admit it, Lana was right. The lights were on even though no one was supposed to be home. It had been more than five years for Lois since she had laid eyes on the Luthor Estate. The last time she had come here, she had been on hand to see Lex arrested for murdering Chloe. For providing the police with the evidence of his guilt, that had been her reward. Lois had wanted to see the son of a bitch's face when they hauled him away.

Of course that day, she had gotten more than she bargained. Not only did she see Lex's astonishment at the evidence she had provided, Lois got front row seats to look Lana in the eye when the woman realised that her husband was a murderer. It had soured her triumph considerably to say the least. Lois remembered thinking at that moment, she hadn't just lost Chloe and Clark, she had lost Lana too. Her guilt towards Lana more than anything else had compelled her to help Clark prove that Lex was innocent of Chloe's murder.

Of everything else, that was another story.

"God," Lois retorted as they approached the overgrown gardens, unkempt with wild growth everywhere. Very different from the manicured lawns and topiary like bushes and hedges. "Why didn't they just sell this place?" She asked as she brushed away another stray branch from her face as they neared the mansion itself.

"I used to wonder that," Lana replied, recalling how she used to sit in these gardens when Laura was a baby and felt a wave of sadness seeing it in its current state. "I thought Lionel was keeping it for Laura, making hoping that she'd want to move in here after she got her inheritance. That used to scare the hell out of me." She gave Lois a look. "However, now that we know the truth about the Construct, I don't think he gave it a second thought."

That was probably the truth, Lois decided. What use did a machine have for any of the luxuries that the Luthors surrounded themselves with?

"You know," Lois said as the mansion came into view. "I wish we knew what its plan was."

"Plan?" Lana asked as they reached the housekeepers residence a short walk away from the main house.

"Yeah," the reporter nodded. "I mean we figured out that the Construct wanted Lex's company but not why."

Lana had to admit, that had made her wonder as well. Now that most of the pieces were laid out, the jigsaw puzzle of this entire situation was still missing a piece. "I thought the Construct's main purpose was to release Zod." Instinctively, she shuddered remembering her first encounter with the Kryptonian General when he was wearing Lex's skin.

"It is," Lois affirmed, "I can't see it changing its programming to deviate from that."

"Maybe it needed a host," Lana suggested, peering over the edge of the small cottage. It appeared the west wing of the mansion was occupied. Lana could see multiple windows alive with amber light. "It did something to Lex to make him the vessel for Zod."

"Okay, the Section 33.1 stuff that Lex was into might explain that," Lois agreed, "but something is still off. Host or not, he needed Clark to open up the Zone to get Zod out."

"Maybe he didn't expect Clark to leave when Chloe died," Lana offered, not liking the idea of what Lex was doing with meteor-infected people but it was hard to be angry with him when he had paid for that with five years of his life.

"_Nobody_ expected Clark to leave," she retorted, unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

"Let me go first," Lana suggested as they spied the open space between the housekeeper's cottage and the back entrance to the mansion.

"I'm the investigative journalist remember?" Lois pointed out.

"Yeah," Lana rolled her eyes. "And I'm the one who was used to wandering into the kitchen in the middle of the night with strawberry ice cream cravings when I was _pregnant_."

"I stand corrected," Lois gave up without further argument.

Running across the garden with the knee-high growth, Lois followed Lana as the former Mrs. Luthor made good time to the back door leading into the kitchen. Testing the door, Lana frowned when she found it locked and supposed she should have expected it to be so. The place had been locked up for nearly half a decade.

"Never fear," Lois said smugly, reaching into her jacket and pulling out a small leather case which she flipped open to reveal what was apparently a lock pick set. "I come prepared."

Lana stared. "You carry that on you?"

"What?" Lois stared at her innocently. "You never know when you might need it." And with that, Lois went to work on opening the kitchen door. "Besides," she said as she heard an audible click, "there's something to be said about doing a story about the state penitentiary for women and sharing a cell with a roomie whose doing two to five for breaking and entering." She capped off the sentence with an experimental twist of the doorknob.

The door swung open.

"After you," Lois retorted with a smile, straightening up as Lana entered first. Despite her attempt at humour, Lois was aware of the seriousness of the situation. She knew Lana was hoping that perhaps Laura was here. That could be a possibility. The Construct had used the child as bait and what better way to manipulate Clark than by concealing the child's whereabouts.

Lana Lang was surprised that even after all this time, her mind retained some memory of the internal layout of the Luthor mansion. Her hand guiding her path ahead by touching the walls, Lana was acutely aware of Lois following close by. Inside the mansion, the evidence that this place had been abandoned was apparent in the musty air and the occasional cobweb they ran into. She resisted the urge to call out for her daughter, convinced the child was hidden in one of these rooms somewhere.

The alternative was too terrible to bear.

Finally, they rounded a corner towards the west wing and saw the light source they had seen earlier from a distance, emanating from the hallway ahead.

"Lana, maybe we should try to approach it another way," Lois suggested since the hallway ended at the door to the lit room. If they were to enter it directly, there would be no way to conceal their presence from what was awaiting on the other side.

Unfortunately, Lana had no opportunity to protest since the corridor flooded with light from the dusty light fixtures, illuminating the dull, wooden panelling and revealing deep burgundy carpet in dire need of cleaning. Behind them, Lois stiffened when she heard the recognizable sound a gun hammer being cocked.

"I'd rather you not," a voice coldly.


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: SACRIFICE

No one saw what was coming, not at first.

They could feel it though. They could feel the shudder in the ground, like the tremors of an earthquake. Then they felt the rush of wind through the trees, through the corn stalks, it made birds spiral uncontrollably, squawking with indignation at the sudden turbulence in their flight path. Then people saw it coming at them, though what 'it' may be wasn't immediately identifiable. A whirlwind of dust, sand, leaves and other random objects travelled across the landscape from Metropolis to Smallville.

On concrete, it wasn't so easy to see but once the phenomenon took place over open land, the evidence of what was happening was apparently clear. Something was moving through the sky at supersonic speeds. Moving through the air with such force that the velocity of the wind rushing past it was creating furrows in the dirt, causing whole fields of cornstalks to be splayed apart as if someone had commanded it to clear the way, like Moses parting the Red Sea.

Clark kept his eyes fixed on the Construct, even from a distance. He could catch up to it easily enough but for the moment, he was interested to see where the thing was going. Everything that the Construct had done was by design. He had no reason to believe that it would change its pattern of behaviour until now. The Construct was heading back to Smallville and Clark wasn't about to halt his progress.

It would save him dragging the Kryptonian AI there himself.

Beneath them, he saw people pointing up to the sky, gawking as he flew past. He could hear the exclamations of his name.

Superman.

What was he becoming to people that they said it with such awe? Clark didn't know but he knew that he was proud to be their Superman, proud to protect them and proud to fight for them against the likes of the Construct. This was his destiny, he realised with perfect clarity. All those years of struggling to understand what his place was in the world, confused by Jor-El's cryptic words, slave to his own weaknesses. Pa was right all along.

It was always his choice once he learned to accept who he was.

The Construct was speeding towards Smallville and Clark felt a sliver of concern at the harm it might do there. Already he had seen what was capable of a fight between two Kryptonians in a populated centre. Smallville was nowhere the size of Metropolis to take the brunt of such a violent confrontation. Clark increased his speed to catch up with the Construct, possibly to divert him into the farmland surrounding the small community. As he did so, everything around him seemed to a crawl. He was aware distantly that the air was exploding with the sounds of sonic booms, not unlike mortar shells hitting the dirt.

However, as he closed in, he noted that the Construct was not heading towards the centre of town but rather to its outskirts. For a moment, he thought that the Construct was attempting to face him at the farm but the direction was all wrong. It took but a fraction of a second for Clark to realise that it was the not the Kent farm or the town of Smallville that was the Construct's direction but rather the Luthor mansion.

It was almost poetic.

***********

"Who the hell are you?" Lois Lane demanded as the voice who had ordered them to stay at the point of a gun, circled them like a panther stalking its prey.  
It certainly wasn't the Construct since a machine would have little use for a gun. However, Lois who had been on the wrong side of a gun numerous occasions before this, knew that the danger was no less.

Boots crunched against the dust covered floor of the Luthor mansion, rounding the two women before allowing them their first view of their captor. Lois recognized the tall, statuesque blonde-haired woman she had seen during numerous press conferences by Luthor Corp. Even though Lionel was never present at these events, he often sent this familiar face to do his talking for him. No one was exactly sure what Mercy Graves did for Lionel Luthor but then again, what she did for the Construct was as much a mystery.

"Who are you?" Lana asked, not recognizing the woman since she made it a point to avoid newspaper articles about Luthor Corp over the past five years.

"Mercy Graves," Lois retorted, glaring at the woman wearing her dark suit and boots, as she stood before them like the quintessential henchwoman. "I knew you were Lionel Luthor's mouth piece but I hadn't realised you were playing bodyguard as well."

"Very amusing," Mercy answered dispassionately. "As far as I can tell, you two are the ones breaking an entering. It was fortunate that Mr. Luthor had all the surveillance equipment activated in the last day or two. He suspected that we might be getting visitors."

"We?" Lois almost laughed. "You are not the little woman. You're the hired help. If we've trespassed, how about calling the cops." Lois dared her. "I'm sure the local police will be happy to take us in and settle all of this."

"Oh really?" Mercy glared at her and pulled the trigger. "In that case…"

"LOIS!" Lana uttered a panicked scream when she heard the gun go off and Lois Lane being slammed back into the floor.

Lois felt a moment of perfect clarity when the bullet tore through her shoulder and kept going. There a flash of exquisite pain as meat and bone were shredded and something warm seeped down her sides. Groaning in pain, Lois saw Lana hurrying to her as Mercy stood before them, prepared to fire again.

"There was no need for this," Lana spat. "Lois, don't move." She instructed, trying examine the wound with the dim light available.

"I'm fine," Lois tried to sound brave but the truth was, it hurt like hell. Still, there was too much fight in her to allow Mercy to think that she was going to get Lois' submission. "Crazy bitch has upgraded from bodyguard to f**ked up FEMBOT!"

"Do I have to shoot you again?" Mercy retorted.

"Can you afford to?" Lois snapped, her anger making her foolhardy. "I'm Superman's girlfriend and if your boss finds out you offed either one of us, his bargaining position is going to be a hell of a lot weaker."

Mercy seemed to consider those words before she offered a little smile, one that was oily with serpentine intent. "Help her up," she ordered Lana as she retreated up the corridor, gun still pointed at them.

Lana ignored the barbs between the two, concerned only with Lois' condition at this point. Although she wished Lois would just shut up, Lana had also known Lois Lane long enough to know that only death would ever silence the woman. With luck, Lois would not tempt fate tonight by giving this Mercy woman the chance to finish the job.

"Lean on me," Lana instructed, sounding very much like Mrs. Kent at that moment, so much so that Lois obeyed readily enough. Martha Kent was the only person that Lois would obey unconditionally.

Mercy retreated to the room at the end of the corridor and kicked it open. Light flooded the corridor from the room Lana recognized well. It was Lex's study where he did most of his business. She might have almost felt nostalgic about seeing the place if not for something else that caught her attention. Lying on leather sofa, quite unconscious was Laura Lang.

"Oh my God…" Lana gasped, "Laura!" She started to take a step forward but Mercy was quick to halt her attempt.

"Stay where you are!" The woman warned, throwing Lois a smug look. "Looks like Mr. Luthor's bargaining position got a lot stronger didn't it?"

"What have you done to her!" Lana burst out, helping Lois to another chair in the room.

"She's fine," Mercy declared, the gun not wavering one bit as she moved over to Lex's desk. "She's been drugged. I really have no patience with children and chloroform is so useful."

Lana was torn between acting sensibly and rushing to her daughter's side. She took comfort in the fact that Laura was seemingly unhurt but this was a determination Lana would not be satisfied with until she held the child in her arms.

Lois struggled to sit up in the chair that Lana had left her, wincing at the blood that had was running down her knuckles, staining the hem of her shirt. She knew from experience that the shoulder wound was not serious but that didn't keep it from hurting like a son of a bitch thought. Fortunately, her concern for Lana's state of mind distracted her and Lois tried another tact with Miss FemBot.

"You do know that's not Lionel Luthor right?" Lois said hoping to surprise Mercy.

"Of course I do. " The woman's answered turn the tables on the reporter from the Daily Planet quite spectacularly.

"You know?" Lois exclaimed. "And you're still helping him…I mean it? It's not even human!"

"Neither is Superman," Mercy retaliated.

"Superman doesn't plan on destroying the world," Lana threw in, seeing Lois taken back by the argument. "_It_ does."

"Destroying it or bringing it a new order of existence?" Mercy challenged as she stepped behind the desk and pulled out a drawer, her eyes shifting downwards long enough to pull open the drawer.

"You have no idea what it wants," Lois stared at the woman, unable to wrap her mind around the twisted logic that Mercy had reached to continue her allegiance to the Construct. "You have no idea what its trying to release, Zod…"

"Is not going to be stopped by Superman this time." Mercy stated firmly as she retrieved the object from the desk drawer.

A glowing piece of meteor rock.

Kryptonite.

*****************

The Construct had hoped to lure Kal-El back to the mansion in order to use the child but as it closed in on the structure, it discovered that its associate Mercy Graves had succeeded in improving his advantage. With Lois Lane, Lana Lang and the child as leverage, the Construct calculated the odds of winning the day against Kal-El and succeeding in its objective reaching higher probabilities than before. Accelerating its approach to ensure that it arrived at the Mansion before Kal-El could, the Construct was exploded forward in a burst of speed that unwittingly caused another sonic boom to erupt.

When Clark saw the Construct closing in on the Luthor Mansion, he used his x-ray vision on the building and realised with alarm, why the AI was so intent on getting there. Not only was Lana and her daughter there at gunpoint but Lois, Lois was there too. Moreover, she was hurt. He could see even from this distance, the blood on her flesh and the piece of lead that was lodged in her shoulder. Jaw tightening with fury, Clark went after the Construct with as much intensity, intending on making it pay for not only Chloe and Lex but also to the harm, he had brought to Lois and Lana as well.

The surrounding environment began to react from the approach of two being moving at supersonic speed. Windows began to shudder in the Luthor mansion and the ground trembled. The over grown bush around the place was being whipped into a frenzy and while twisters weren't exactly a new experience for the Midwest, they did not often arrive without any warning.

The Construct smashed through the roof of the building, having no time for the niceties with Kal-El pursuing so closely. If Mercy was at all her efficient self, she would have retrieved the tiny bit of insurance it required to gain further advantage over Kal-El. Being mechanical, pieces of poor, doomed Krypton had little effect on him. However, on Kal-El, that was another thing entirely. Once again, the Construct knew how to plan for contingencies. After all, it was its nature.

When the windows began to shake and the walls started to shudder, Lois knew that Construct was approaching and guessed the only reason it could be flying back here like a bat out of hell was because something badder than it was in close pursuit. Clark. She thought with a surge of relief. However, that relief was short lived when she remembered the chunk of meteor rock that Mercy had waiting for Clark when he arrived. Thinking quickly, she watched the woman reacting to the same quaking as her and Lana.

In pain but refusing to let this crazy bitch hurt Clark in any way or for that matter, weaken him enough to have the Construct kill them all, Lois kept her eyes fixed on the rock, waiting for the moment. It came when the Construct broke through. With more strength and speed than Mercy probably expected from her, Lois launched herself across the desk. Sliding across the desk painfully but grabbing the rock with her good hand, Lois smacked head first into Mercy Graves, toppling them both over behind the desk. The gun went off wildly, the bullet hitting the ceiling as both tumbled to the floor.

"LANA!" Lois shouted. "A little help here!"

Lois didn't have to call twice. Lana was already scrambling towards them as Mercy who was in better shape than Lois was, smashed the gun against the side of the reporter's face. Lois slumped backwards dazed and looked up from the floor just in time to see Mercy taking an aim at her. She closed her eyes, expecting her second bullet for the day to end her when suddenly, Lana Lang came out of nowhere and locked an arm around Mercy's neck while the other grabbed the arm holding the gun.

"Lois! Get that thing out of the way!" Lana shouted as she slammed Mercy's wrist against the edge of the desk and forced the woman to drop the gun.

Lois nodded, scrambling away from the two women on her knees. Her arm was aching like hell but she was maintaining a death grip on the rock when in front of her, the Construct came to a stop in a blur.

"I'll take that." He said looking at the meteor rock in her hand. His arrival caused the occupants of the room to freeze in place. Lana and Mercy stopped fighting momentarily and Lois stumbled away.

"No," Lois hissed.

Before she could even finished the word, the Construct grabbed her by the throat and slammed her hard against the wall. Lois saw stars as the kryptonite tumbled out of her reach, rolling underneath the sofa. The Construct was about to release her when Clark came through the wall, sending wooden splinters and mortal in all directions. Mercy took advantage of the commotion to go for the rock but Lana was not about to let that happen. The former Smallville cheerleader and ex-Mrs Luthor whom had once been taught by her husband how to defend herself, tackled Mercy to the floor before she could get two steps ahead.

"STOP KAL-EL!" The Construct warned as Lois choked at the fingers crushing her windpipe. "Do you think you can get to me before I snap her neck? Do you?"

"This isn't going to end the way you want," Clark said confidently even though Lois could see the fear in her eyes. "I won't release Zod."

"You'll do whatever I say to free this woman," the Construct retorted, proving his point by tightening his fingers further until Lois could feel herself starting to black out. "Of all of them, this one is the one that is your favourite. How will you maintain your humanity if you let this one die?" He taunted.

"You're not killing Lois or anyone else today," Clark continued to speak, taking another step forward. The Construct could move just as quickly as he and even with his great speed, Clark couldn't be certain that he could stop the monster from hurting the woman he loved. Then again, the woman he loved, had a tendency to take care of herself. "And she's not as helpless as you think?"

Lois listened to Clark speak, struggling for breath but his words penetrated and she knew that he was right. She wasn't helpless. Clark was talking to the Construct, distracting it and if not for the pain she felt at present, she would have grasp the reason why far sooner. However, now it was clear to her and pretending to be complacent, her hand inched slowly into her jacket.

"Why all this?" Clark demanded of the Construct, buying time. "Why did you do all this? If you wanted me to free Zod, there were easier ways of doing it than taking over Lex's company, framing him for murder. For Chloe's murder."

"Kal-El," the Construct smiled. "I do things for my own purposes, I have no need to explain them to you? Why did I take over Lex's company? Because I needed to just as I needed him out of the way. Choosing Chloe for his victim was not merely serendipity but also had the added convenience of making you hurt. I enjoyed _that_ very much."

"I guess you are more human than you imagine," Clark returned, continuing to lob questions at the Construct. "How can you give your allegiance to Zod when he will destroy all that you are. You were a machine, considered little more than a sophisticated program by the Kryptonians. Look at you now, you're not just a self-aware program, you've achieved consciousness. You're alive Brainiac, as alive as me and all you want to do with that is to unleash Zod who will take that away from you? How does that compute as logic?"

The Construct was prepared to dismiss Kal-El's words as dilatory but then it realised that there was a kernel of truth, logic to what was being said. On Krypton, it had monitored every aspect of humanoid life taking place on the planet, it maintained their lifestyle like a master ensuring an optimum habitat for its pets, and it had even given its allegiance to Zod. Was that not the actions of a living thing?

"You pose an interesting question Kal-El," the Construct remarked.

"Pity you won't get to think on it too much," Lois retorted as she produced the long silver blade with Kryptonian inscriptions that Jor-El had given her. "This is for Chloe you son of a bitch!"

She stabled the blade into what passed for the Construct's chest. The dagger that should have shattered against dense Kryptonian skin, metallic or flesh, sparked on contact and then penetrated. It buried itself into the Construct's body to the hilt, the Kryptonian inscriptions coming alive. Clark moved into action, speeding forward so fast that the he disappeared for a second, reappearing at Lois side long enough to spirit her away from the Construct.

Lana in the meantime shoved away the unconscious Mercy Graves who had not seen her master receive his comeuppance. Several bashings against the floor when Lana was straddling her had ensured any threat the woman had been was over. After Mercy was slumped unconscious beneath her, Lana reached beneath the sofa where Laura had remained blissfully unconscious and found the meteor rock. Tossing it through the window, she didn't care that it shattered glass on the way out. All she cared about was that it was gone and unable to harm anyone.

The Construct seemed puzzled at the Kryptonian blade thrust into what was its sternum. Such a blade had been used by it once before to tap into the Fortress to trick Kal-El into opening the Phantom Zone but this time its effect was entirely different. It reached to extract the weapon from its body but found that it could barely manage to lift its arms. From beneath its skin, he could see light fissuring through the image of flesh, burning away his humanoid appearance.

"What…?"

"You're a goddamn program," Lois hissed as Clark held her in his arms. "That's all you are. A program. If you were ever alive, that's over now. You know how you screw with a program? You infect with a virus."

The Construct's eyes widened and retorted, "I am the Brain Interactive Construct!" It barked back. "I was the ultimate creation of programming on Krypton! There is no virus capable of infecting me!" Yet even as it spoke with defiance, it could feel sectors of memory becoming inert, unable to be accessed.

"You were the creation of my father," Clark replied. "Jor-El of Krypton. Do you honestly think that he would have created a program that controlled so many without thinking ahead to shut it down if necessary?"

"Its impossible…" the Construct declared as it looked down and saw that its feet were turning into base components, becoming inert matter, unable to hold its shape.

"Face if asshole," Los declared, "Your drive is getting _formatted_."

"You must not destroy me Kal-El," the Construct cried hastily as the deconstruction moved up its knees, turning into dark sand as the face of Milton Fine vanished entirely, left by formless pale skin that looked like a wax figure melting under the heat. "You will not know the truth if I am destroyed, you will not understand why I did any of it!"

Clark looked at it with as much mercy as it had shown Chloe Sullivan when it took her life. "I don't care why you did it," he said firmly and surprised himself by how satisfied he was with himself at that admission. "I just want you _gone._"

"You fool yourself!" The Construct screamed, becoming desperate. The feeling of panic experienced earlier had become all-consuming. It was a repellent sensation. "You were always a fool to be manipulated. A little truth here and there, dangled like a carrot and you would do anything…." It looked down at itself, the knife protruding out of its sternum was almost scraping the floor.

"Not anymore," Clark said confidently, holding Lois close. "Not anymore."

As the blade touched the floor, the molecular cohesion of the Construct gave away entirely, its form turning into black sand, falling to the floor to join the pile. The blade rested among the dark debris, no longer glowing. Clark let out a sigh as he watched the Brain Interactive Construct ended for good before remembering those who had fought just as hard to defeat it.

"Lois, Lana, are both of you alright?" He asked with concern, scanning the wound on Lois' shoulder. "Lois you need to get to a hospital." His voice was filled with alarm.

"The bitch just winged me," Lois said confidently, although Thorazine would be her friend if it were administered right now. She saw Lana headed towards Laura and let out a sigh of relief that the kid had slept through everything. "Is she okay?"

Clark watched Lana go the little girl on sofa, picking her up gently, her dark hair bunching up as Lana cradled her as if she were an infant. Staring at the child, Clark remembered how Lana looked the first time he saw her when they were small children. Laura didn't look so different. The wheel had turned and it felt as if they had come full circle.

Lana looked down at the cherub face that stirred upon being picked up. The little nose wrinkled as a stray hair brushed against her upper lip. Without thinking because it was so ingrained in her existence to do so, Lana brushed the strand aside as the girl's eyes fluttered open.

"Mommy," blue eyes stared at Lana.

"Hey Starbuck," Lana smiled, her eyes filled with as much emotion as her voice. "I'm here."

"Is the bad man gone?" She asked with a child's concern.

Lana blinked warm tears and nodded, "he's gone. He'll never hurt you again."

As Clark heard those words, he turned to the pile of dark sand that was the Construct's inert form. Eyes glowing red with heat, he prepared to put an end to the Kryptonian AI once and for all when Lois spoke up.

"Superman don't."

"What?" He stared at her with near stupefied shock. She had called him Superman, something she did only when there was an importance attached to it. Then he remembered that Mercy was present, even unconscious, it wasn't wise to risk his identity.

"Don't do it." She repeated herself.

"Lois, why? After what this thing did? I didn't stop it permanently last time and Chloe is dead because of that. I'm not taking any more chances."

"Superman," Lois touched his cheek. "Jor-El is in there."

"What?" He exploded. "What do you mean?"

"I asked Jor-El to help you," she swallowed. "I asked him what the father of Kal-El would do for his son, to prove he wasn't just some disembodied voice reading out instructions from a man who no longer existed. " She blinked, hiding the emotion in her face. "There was _no_ virus that could infect Brainiac. It was right about that. All there was, is what is left of Jor-El. The dagger contained his personality matrix," Lois explained it as Jor-El had tried to tell her and Lana. "Everything that was him in the Fortress, the man, was in that dagger. He used his memory and personality engrams to rewrite the Braniac programming with an order for self termination."

"No," Clark refused to believe it. "Why would he do that?"

"Because you're his son," Lana said softly. "That's what fathers do. They sacrifice for their children. Jor-El, whatever that was him in the fortress, was your _father_ to the last."

All those years that Clark had wished Jor-El to disappear, to go away from his life. Jonathan Kent was his father, the only father Clark ever wanted. Jor-El had remained on the periphery of his existence, always making demands, trying to force him to be Kryptonian. Decrying his human existence as if it were nothing but a terrible mistake. Clark had hated him for that, had hated him for taking the choice of his existence away from him. Even when he had fled to the Fortress after Chloe had died, Clark had hated him but at the time, he hated himself more. His loathing allowed him to let down his guard, to trust Jor-El enough to be trained as the man always wanted.

The price of that was five years of his life and nearly losing Lois forever. When Clark realised how much time had passed, he felt his hatred renewed once again. He hated Jor-El even though inside of him, deep down, he knew it really wasn't Jor-El but engrams of a man long dead. Now Lois and Lana was telling him that the machine, the intelligence that posed as Jor-El had sacrificed itself for him. It had destroyed itself and the Construct to _save_ him. Clark didn't know what to do with that.

No, that wasn't true. He did know and that's why it hurt so much.

Jor-El had told him for years that his human emotions were a weakness, untempered it could cause as much destruction Zod or the Construct. Clark himself had seen this for himself. For once, he wasn't going to succumb, he was going to do what a Kryptonian would do in the same situation. If Jor-El had sacrificed himself to ensure the Construct would do no further harm than Clark had to honour that sacrifice and finish what he had set out to do.

Focussing on the pile of inert remnants of the Construct, Clark's eyes reddened as he sent a steady blast of heat vision on the black sand, turning it into a funeral pyre of sorts that glowed with amber light throughout the room. This wasn't the ending of the Construct but also of the last remaining essence of Jor-El. His father. The flames burned briefly because the intense heat had nothing but his will to generate but when it was done, there was only a blackened stain on the floor where carpet had been.

Silently, almost to himself, Clark whispered, "Goodbye father."


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THREADS

LIONEL LUTHOR FOUND DEAD!

By Lois Lane

It is not often that this reporter is forced to write a retraction however, in recent days, information has come to light that not only demands it but also requires an apology as well.

It is the responsibility of every citizen, whether they are ordinary people on the street or Supermen flying in the skies, to pursue the truth no matter what the personal cost. It has been this reporter's life's work to search for such truths, to shed the light of injustice no matter what the consequences. The truth is all we have when there is nothing else to believe. The truth is our humanity and it can set us free.

Three days ago, this city was witness to a terrible battle between our new hero Superman and a being that had the ability to impersonate anyone he pleased. Once upon a time, such a thing would be impossible to accept but this is the Age of the Meteor Generation. Extraordinary people live among us, with extraordinary powers and while some like Superman use their abilities for the good, others like Milton Fine used their powers for far more insidious reasons.

Superman battled Milton Fine, causing great damage to this city because Superman had discovered a terrible injustice. The man who had been Lionel Luthor was murdered five years ago. Milton Fine took his place in his life and removed all obstacles to his power. Chloe Sullivan, star reporter for the Daily Planet had discovered this ruse and was murdered and used as a tool to frame Lionel's son, Lex.

Three days ago, James Olsen a colleague and friend, discovered the remains of Lionel Luthor at an abandon section of the Smallville Dam. Also found was the body of Desmond Kerr, a chauffeur formerly assigned to driving Lex Luthor. Forensics conducted by FBI at Langley has proven conclusively that these remains are a 100 percent DNA match for Mr. Luthor and Mr. Kerr. Moreover, the stratigraphical integrity of the remains and the site indicate that they have been interred in its present location for five years.

This reporter was provided with information of Lex Luthor's complicity in the murder of Chloe Sullivan well after that period. Furthermore, it was Desmond Kerr that the younger Luthor relied upon to collaborate his alibi on the day of the murder. Police now believe that Desmond Kerr was killed at the same time as Mr. Luthor. Both were hidden away for Milton Fine to assume Lionel's identity and gain control of LuthorCorp as well as pose as Kerr to deny any knowledge of Lex's whereabouts at the time of the murder.

This reporter was able to bring charges against Lex Luthor using incriminating evidence provided by the man she believed to be Lionel Luthor, the man we now know to be Milton Fine. Fine has since disappeared into the woodwork, however, the damage has been done. Two people are dead and one has been wrongly imprisoned. It is too late for Lionel Luthor or Desmond Kerr but it is not too late to correct the wrong done to Lex Luthor.

This reporter offers Mr. Luthor and his family her deepest apologies and hope that the truth will once again, set him free.

********

"So what happens now?" Jimmy asked as he was wheeled down the hallway of the Smallville Medical Centre. Even though he was discharged, it would be a week or so before Jimmy would be fit to return to work for that matter, do anything other than convalescence.

"Well, instead of going through the motions of a re-trial which in this case would be difficult because Milton Fine isn't around to be held accountable, Lex's lawyers have applied for clemency." Lois explained as she walked next to Jimmy as Clark pushed him along the corridor, her arm still in a sling from the gunshot wound inflicted upon her by Mercy Graves. Lois' stay at the hospital had been much shorter than Jimmy's who sustained more serious injuries. Even now, she could still see the bruises on his face from the Construct's assault.

"You mean a governor's pardon?" Jimmy exclaimed with some surprise.

"It seems the fastest way," Clark added. "Besides, there was plenty of evidence to prove that Construct was impersonating Lionel and Desmond Kerr now that the bodies have been found. Unfortunately, the law hasn't quite caught up with all the finer points of meteor-infected criminology. I think in the future they'll be rewritten but that's a long time for Lex to be waiting for his freedom."

"What about Mercy Graves?" Jimmy inquired, feeling somewhat trapped in limbo during his stay in Smallville, so far away from Metropolis and the Daily Planet. By the time, he had recovered enough to be lucid, Lois had already been discharged. However, Lana had been by to visit him every day and thanks to his roommate being Superman, Jimmy also had frequent visits from Clark to keep him from getting too bored.

"Oh Superman delivered her to Metropolis SCU when it was all said and done," Lois tossed Clark a little smile. "She'll be charged with kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and anything else that Maggie Sawyer can cook up to keep her behind bars for sometime. You know she still denies any knowledge of Lionel Luthor being the Construct?"

"It's the smarter move," Clark commented. "That way she can claim to be just another person who was fooled and not a human traitor who was prepared to sacrifice the planet to Zod."

"Ouch Smallville," Lois winced. "When you put it like that, it makes me want to find her and kick her Fembot ass from here to kingdom come. Not that I don't owe her for this," she glanced at the sling.

"Nicely put Lois," Clark chuckled, never tiring of Lois' unique way of expressing herself.

Lois' response was a playful wink in his direction.

"Have you seen Lex since the Construct was destroyed?" Jimmy inquired, looking over his shoulder at Clark.

"No," Clark shook his head, answering honestly. Clark had been tempted to go to his old friend, to apologise perhaps for all that had been taken from him, but what was the point? Lex didn't remember him, didn't remember his friendship. Even Lana had thought that this was for the best. Lex would have enough trouble readjusting to the world after what he had endured in prison. There was no reason to make that transition any more complicated by reminding him that chunks of his memories had been removed.

"It's better that I don't," Clark replied, explaining his short answer to Jimmy a fraction of a second later. Lois, seeing the hurt in his eyes through the steel-rimmed glasses, squeezed his hand gently in sympathy. "Lana and I agreed that it's best that things stay the way they are. Besides, I don't need Lex to know who Superman is."

"That's true," Jimmy conceded the point. In truth, Jimmy didn't have much personal dealings with Lex Luthor, however, what scant knowledge the photographer did have, convinced him that Lex Luthor having that kind of power over Superman wasn't a good thing. As he and Lois readily agreed, Lex was innocent of murdering Chloe, that did not meant he wasn't guilty of other crimes as well. Jimmy remembered what he and Lana had seen in the ruin of Section 33.1 where they found Lionel's body. Nothing about that had been innocent.

"Let sleeping dogs lie I say." Jimmy mused.

Lois shared Jimmy's sentiments and though Clark mourned the friendship he had given up on Lex Luthor years ago, Lois Lane could deny feeling that this was for the best. Lex's fascination with meteor infected people would not be shaken even if he had no knowledge of Clark Kent. "Well if we're lucky, maybe the only thing he'll be interested in being again, is a father and a husband to Lana."

Clark winced as she said that. Time had changed nothing about his feelings about Lex's relationship with Lana. While he had accepted that it was none of his business and that Lana was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions, just knowing that her life was so entangled with the Luthors made him wary.

"You think they'll get back together?" Jimmy asked as they reached the main entrance of the hospital. The doors slid open and emptied the trio into the parking lot.

Outside, it was a bright sunny day, with people in Smallville going about their business, seemingly oblivious to the excitement at the Luthor mansion days before. It never ceased to amaze Clark how resilient the folks in Smallville could be. Nothing seemed to faze them. He supposed nearly fifteen years of meteor-infected people appearing from time to time had inured them to the strange things that happened to the town.

"I don't know," Lois said honestly, noticing Clark's discomfiture. "I know Lana's operating on a lot of guilt right now and that she wants Laura to have a father so I say the chances are good that she might give him another chance." Lois knew that to Lana, she would be supportive of whatever choice was made but in truth, Lois would always think it was a bad idea. Lex had evil in him. It was more than just he reporter's instinct that told her this. Being a Luthor tainted him. She hoped Lana's choice did not mean the same for little Laura as well.

Clark exchanged a glance with Lois, revealing the same concern as she. However, he had vowed to himself that he would not step in or interfere with any aspect of Lana Lang's life. Already he had harmed her too much by his actions and later on by his inactions. For six years, his indecision regarding Lana had nearly destroyed them both. He promised himself, he was done with that past.

Whatever the future lay for Lana Lang, it would not be Clark Kent's doing.

His future lay with the woman beside him, with Lois Lane who could make him fly without every needing to leave the ground. Lois had stood by him through the best and worst of things. She was the woman he loved and his soul mate. Even now, Clark found it hard to believe he could ever have thought differently. Her love for him was as relentless as the rest of her and no matter what, Clark realised he could always rely on it.

For his own future, Clark could be certain of only one thing; Lois would always be apart of it.

************

Lana was nervous.

She had good reason to be. What do you say to someone you've spent the last five years doubting? She had pondered the question all morning as she made the drive from Smallville to the city. Hours later and the answer still eluded her. She wasn't sure what to feel. She should have elated at the realisation that she hadn't been a fool, that she had not given her love to a murderer. She should have felt a great many things and yet the only emotion that journeyed with her to this place was fear.

What would Lex say to her after all this time? Did he still love her? Could he still love her after she had turned away from him, denied him his daughter and ignored every attempt he had reached for her in desperation? Did Lex have that much forgiveness in him? Clark had told her that the Construct had manipulated Lex's mind, removed any traces of their friendship. As far as Lex was concerned, Clark was just an old friend from days past, who just happened to date his ex-wife once upon a time.

Considering the turbulence between the two, Lana was content to leave things at that but hoped that Lex's memories were no more damaged than that. It was going to be hard enough making it up to him without having to fill in the gaps that the Construct had created in his mind. Fortunately, in the aftermath of the confrontation with the Construct, Lana Lang found herself in the unique position of being in charge of the Luthor fortune. As mother of the only other Luthor aside from Lex himself, Lana was able to use Luthor Corp's considerable influence to peddle Lex's freedom.

Even if Milton Fine was posing as Lionel Luthor, it didn't change the fact that the Luthor name still had influence, especially in the circles of power. Stepping back into the world she had turned her back on, Lana convinced herself at first that it was to free an innocent man. Deep inside her, there was a part of Lana that loved Lex still. She hadn't wanted to believe that he was capable of murder but the evidence had given her little recourse. For her daughter's sake, she had made the best choice for her child but now she knew the truth and she owed Lex to be honest with herself and with him.

"Mommy, why are we waiting?" Laura asked through the open door of the car's passenger seat, mediating a conversation between Pingu the Penguin and Barney the Dinosaur.

"We're meeting someone Starbuck," Lana replied evasively, still lacking the courage to tell the girl that they were waiting for Laura's father.

Stryker's Island was a part of Metropolis, connected to the city by a series of bridges over the meandering waterways that gave it the appellation of island. Years before, the island had been home to a thriving steelworks industry, however as economic climates changed so did the fortune of the steelworks that was eventually abandoned to become a prison. These days, Stryker's Island was the infamous home of the Stryker's Island Maximum Penitentiary.

Waiting outside the main gates of the prison, Lana tried not to be intimidated by the ominous looking building surrounded by highwire fences and sentry towers. Laura thankfully had hardly noticed their locale, more content by the fact that they had reached their destination and she was no longer cooped up in the car.

"Who?" Laura asked, not looking up from her play.

"A friend," Lana answered and winced because it was such a poor way to describe the situation to the child.

"What friend?" The child asked again, provoking Lana's exasperation somewhat because her nerves were already frayed and the questions were making her edgier than ever.

Lana did not answer because her attention became fixed on the man she could see through the mesh of the front gate. For a moment, she felt the air sucked out of her lungs as she observed Lex Luthor, emerging from the prison building, wearing the same suit of clothes he had worn on the day he was sentenced. His eyes looked harder, his face was not exactly clean-shaven but not over grown either. His face showed some signs of age but it was the eyes that were most telling.

They were eyes of a man who had seen too much pain in one lifetime.

He didn't see her at first, not until the phalanx of guards escorting him out drifted away. Lex looked over his shoulder, almost afraid to believe that the prison was behind him and this wasn't some cruel trick, making him hope only to snatch it away when it was within reach. However, such thoughts were forgotten when Lex saw Lana waiting by her car, a white Toyota sedan. His breath caught because he had forgotten how breathtaking she was to look upon in the flesh. Photographs had never been able to do able to do Lana justice. He barely noticed the guards opening the gate and letting him out after he saw her and moved like a man pulled forward by invisible threads.

Lana stepped forward, not expecting her reaction at seeing him to be so strong. A tidal wave of emotion threatened to overwhelm her. She struggled to remain standing, to maintain some semblance of dignity. Perhaps that was why she had stayed away, not just to protect Laura but also herself. With her eyes glistening with moisture, they stopped before one another, inches apart. In his eyes, Lana saw no hatred, no resentment or betrayal, just happiness, happiness to see her.

"Lana," Lex whispered her name, afraid she would vanish if he said it aloud. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Lana swallowed thickly before she spoke. "Hello Lex," she looked at him, saw the pain in his features, the toll the years had taken on him and felt her heart softened even more. "I wanted to be here for you..." She paused and took a moment to compose herself. "I don't know what to say Lex. There are so many things I want to say but I don't even know where to begin." It was too much to say, too much to ask of him. "I don't know what I can say…" Lana's voice shuddered.

"Stop Lana," he urged softly, imploring her with his eyes as much his voice. "You don't have to say anything. You had every right to believe what you did. If I had seen the same evidence you had, I would have believed I was guilty too. You did what you had to do. I understand, I don't hate you for it Lana. I still love you. I always have."

Hearing him absolve her of her guilt broke Lana's composure entirely. "Oh Lex, I'm so sorry. I should have believed you! I saw those tapes and I couldn't think straight, I thought I was fool for loving you. Oh my God Lex, it kills me knowing what I did to you, how little faith I had." She felt her resolve crumble, warm tears rolling down her cheeks as she faced him, anguish in her eyes.

Too elated by her presence, Lex would have forgiven her anything at that moment and he did. It was not her that did this to him. Lana had been just as much a victim of this as he had. Closing the distance between them, Lex took her face in his hands and was encouraged when Lana didn't stop him. Permission granted with her eyes, Lex smiled before he drew her close for the first kiss they had shared in five years and it was as sweet as he remembered, when their lives together was just beginning and things hadn't yet gone to hell.

There were people to blame for sure and Lex was determined that there would be a day of reckoning but Lana was not among these, she never would be. He loved her more than he had loved anything. Five years behind bars had changed none of this for him and this moment was the only thing that allowed him to go on.

Lana didn't resist the kiss and marvelled at how good it felt to be held by him again. She was surprised at how much she missed his touch. For so long, she had tried to forget what it was to be his wife and Lana understood now, why Lois had taken Clark back after what he had done. When you loved someone as much as she and Lois had loved Lex and Clark respectively, the logical just didn't come to it. Everything was emotion and right now the only emotion she felt was her love for Lex.

And it was good.

Puzzled by this rather curious display by her mother and the stranger who just arrived on the scene, Laura left Pingu and Barney (who were having a rather heated discussion on the merits of marshmallow pies and ice cream cakes) to go investigate. Sneakers landed on the tar road as she peeked past the open door at the man kissing her mother.

"Is that your friend mommy?" The little girl eyed the stranger with a hint of suspicion.

Lex pulled back the instant he heard the child's voice and shifted his gaze to the little staring at him with his mother's eyes. The last time he had seen his daughter, she was an infant in the crib, not this five year old with the precocious expression and titling her head slightly as she studied him. Lex stood rooted to the spot, staring at this new unknown, trying to process the words he wanted to say. He had rehearsed this meeting in his mind a thousand times before but right now, not a damn thing came to mind.

Lana broke into a smile, wiping her eyes as she glanced at Lex and then Laura. "Starbuck, I'd like you to meet Lex. Lex is a very dear friend."

There would be time again for Laura to be told who Lex was to her but for now, this was an appropriate start. It was best that Laura got to know her father first, that the transition between friend and daughter be taken with baby steps. She met Lex's eyes, hoping that he would understand and saw the slight nod that indicated that he did.

"Hello," Lex extended his hand towards the girl, his fingers almost trembling as he reached for his daughter. He was resisting the urge to sweep the little girl in his arms and hold her forever but that was too much right now. "Starbuck huh?" He threw Lana a little smirk, "that's an interesting name."

"Lex is a funny name too," Laura pointed out, showing her father that the Luthor acumen was alive and well. "Only mommy calls me Starbuck."

Enchanted, Lex let out a little laugh as he regarded the little girl. "Tou'che. Lex is a bit of a funny name. It's actually short for Alexander."

"Alek…shan..der…" Laura pronounced carefully, her face scrunching up with concentration as she made the attempt.

"Very good," Lex said softly, "tell you what, you can call me Lex and I'll call you Starbuck, will that do?"

Laura seemed to consider it for a moment as if it were a question of great importance. "Okay," she agreed, shrugging her slight shoulders before looking past Lex at her mother. "Can we go get ice cream now?"

Lana laughed and looked up at Lex. "Feel like ice cream?" She asked smiling.

"Sounds good to me," Lex returned her smile with one of his own. Looking down at Laura, he said to his daughter. "Ice cream it is."

Picking up the threads of his life would not be easy, Lex Luthor knew that but when he looked at the little girl before him and the woman beside him, whose love he was assured off, it was a good place to start.

***************

From a distance beyond the seeing of either Lex or Lana, Superman watched in silence at the scene. He could have listened in if he wished but Clark opted to leave them their privacy. Lex's freedom was the last bit of consequence, thanks to his abrupt disappearance five years ago, finally set right. With the Construct dead, the truth about Chloe's murder revealed and his own relationship with Lois on the road to recovery, Clark finally felt as if he had turned a corner and left wreckage of past sins behind him.

Of course, nothing came without a price.

Chloe was still dead but for the first time, Clark was able to make peace with himself over that and his perceived part in it. Someone had once given him good advice that he had to let Lana go. It was still good advice that he now had to apply to his feelings about Chloe. It was alright to let Chloe go too. She would always be with him, as she was with all the people who loved her.

She lived in their hearts and that was a good place to be.

About Lionel Luthor, Clark was uncertain how to feel there. His relationship with the man had never been close although Clark did consider the man an ally. After being infused by Kryptonian essence, Lionel was given his life back when he was cured of the cancer that was slowly killing him. His new leash on life had left behind a fierce desire to protect Clark and he had done that for most part. Clark didn't always understand Lionel's methods but the man had come through when Clark needed his help.

Clark wondered if Lex mourned his father at all. He knew he would mourn for Jor-El.

In the last moments of its existence, Clark had finally been able to see a glimmer of the man that Jor-El had been, one whose intentions weren't left for interpretation by a computer program. Lois had somehow managed to remind the Jor-El in the Fortress what his flesh and blood counterpart cared for more than anything; his son. For the first time in his life, Clark wondered about his father without the resenting the action of the AI he had been put in his place to guide Clark though the years. Like Jonathan Kent, Jor-El had been willing to risk it all for his son and that gave Clark a sense of resolution.

Both his fathers were good men who sacrificed themselves to give him life. Clark would not let that sacrifice be in vain.

Having seen enough of the reunion between Lex and Lana, Clark turned back to the city and Metropolis, returning to the life he had won back, to the one he would continue to rebuild with Lois. Clark knew his place in the world now. He knew that his destiny was his own from this point forward.

He had a life as a Clark Kent but he was also Superman and Superman belonged to the world.


	19. Chapter 19

**EPILOGUE**

Lois Lane sat at her desk, shrugging uncomfortably as she felt skin tightening beneath the bandage where her gunshot wound was healing nicely. Even though she was trying not to notice the itch caused by healing flesh, it was a losing battle. Of course, the doctors had imposed some ludicrous rule where she wasn't allowed to scratch or aggravate the injury any further, which meant despite her retraction story, Lois was benched until the sling came out. Sometimes life was so unfair.

"So tell me," Cat Grant plonked herself on the edge of Lois' desk. "What's the scoop on Superman?"

_And the hits just keep coming_, Lois thought as she gave the blond woman a look. "Nothing today," Lois eased back into her chair, staring at Cat. "I think the guy probably wants some normal PR after the whole 'titanic battle on Main Street' thing."

"Oh come on," Cat urged. "The whole city saw how he looked at you in Jimmy's picture. There was serious sparkage there. I mean he gets around, he could like fly to your apartment on the sly, or just to say hello. I sense he is a really romantic type." Cat's eyes glazed over as she envisioned something Lois was convinced had an NC-17 rating.

"Stop that," Lois exclaimed. "I can see a porno with me and Superman happening in your eyes!"

Cat laughed and said sweetly, "yeah right, who said it was _you_?"

Lois' jaw dropped further. "It just so happens that Superman and I are friends, nothing more. The guy barely has time to stop and take a breath. He's too busy saving the world. I'm sure romance is the last thing on his mind and I'm iffy about any guy who flies around all day in _tights_."

"Sure, sure," Cat retorted sceptically, not believing Lois' protestations for a moment. "Well if Superman doesn't float your boat, what about Kent?"

Lois held a perfect poker face. "What about Kent?"

"You wouldn't let me call dibs," Cat reminded.

"He's my partner!" Lois exclaimed with exasperation. "I don't want you getting your meat hooks into him."

"Morning ladies," Clark said stepping onto the scene, hands in his pockets, trying to maintain a straight face since he was able to hear the conversation the minute he stepped unto the newsroom floor. One of the benefits of the job, Clark had found, was witnessing the verbal war of wits between Lois and Cat whenever they entered each other's orbit. Not that Clark would ever admit that it was entertaining of course. "Did I hear my name mentioned?"

Cat turned to Clark and offered him her usual seductive smile, the one reserved for any male of dating age. "Only in the context of reckless abandonment and pleasure." She said to him in breathy voice.

"Oh God," Lois groaned. "Do you need to have a personal moment Cat?"

"Sure," Cat tossed her a look through blond locks, "where do _you_ normally go for that?"

Clark stifled a laugh but was unable to keep from smiling. Lois threw both he and Cat a glare of menace.

"Very funny," Lois retorted. "If you'll run along Goldilocks, Clark and I have _work_ to do."

Smirking because she had score the winning serve, _again_, Cat lifted herself off Lois' desk and brushed past Clark, making sure they made contact. "Anytime you want to have some fun, call me." She offered with more than a hint of suggestion. "Ta Ta Darling." Cat waved her fingers at Lois before sauntering off to parts unknown.

Lois waited until Cat was out of earshot before retorting, "touch her and you die. Don't forget I know _how_, Smallville." She warned.

Clark burst out laughing as he sat at his own desk across from hers, "Lois, are you serious?" He held her gaze, conveying in that one moment that there was no one else for him, no matter how attractive Cat might be.

"Just laying down some ground rules pal," Lois stated firmly, reaching for a pencil. "I've been here way longer then you have. Cat's got a pretty impressive casualty list for someone who's never actually been in _combat_."

"I will be careful to stay clear of her feminine wiles," he replied straight face. "Don't scratch."

Lois lowered the pencil down and scowled at him. "How did you know I was going to scratch?" She demanded because that was precisely what she was about to do.

"I _know_ you," he declared and turned on his computer.

Another scowl was shot his way before Lois remembered why he was absent this morning. "Did you see them?"

Clark's expression sobered. "Yeah," he nodded, sinking back into his chair looking thoughtful. "They looked happy."

"Whatever that means," Lois said cynically, unable to embrace any kind of optimism where Lex Luthor was concerned. "I'm glad he's out because he didn't kill Chloe but he's not innocent, we both know that Smallville."

"Yeah we do," Clark agreed, "but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it Lois. Right now, let them have this while it lasts."

Lois couldn't fault that reasoning and a part of her hoped that Clark was right, maybe they would be happy. For Lana and Laura's sake, Lois hoped that the reunion with his family after years in prison might make Lex a better man and not a more dangerous one

"You know I do wonder though," Lois said in an effort to change the subject, "what the Construct really wanted?"

Clark looked up at her from his screen. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it went through a lot of trouble to cover up Lionel's death, to take his place and gain control of Luthor Corp, no to mention what he did to Chloe. I still feel like we're missing something," she mused. "This reporter's nose says that there's something we're not seeing."

Lois' instincts were probably right. Clark too felt as if something had been left undone but with the Construct destroyed and the damage it caused corrected to a degree, there seemed to be no clue as to what that might be. "I guess we'll never know what it was after Lois," Clark replied. "I'm okay with that."

"Lane, Kent!" Perry stuck his head out of the door of his office. "Am I paying you to sit around and chat? There's a big tenement fire at Suicide Slum, get down there!"

Clark stood up immediately, meeting Lois' eyes with a knowing look.

Lois followed suit, grabbing her purse and her pad before turning back to Perry, "we're on it Chief."

"Don't call me Chief!" The man hollered back.

As Lois swept past Clark, knowing that he would follow her as far as the elevator before making a discreet exit, Lois tossed him a smile knowing another Superman exclusive was on the way. "Come on Rookie," she winked. "We've got a story to cover."

Far beneath the waters of the Smallville Dam, hidden from the world once again, the space ship waited in the depths, covered by silt and vegetation. Five years ago, an earthquake had shook it loose and the result had been a collision with the base of the dam. The damage to the structure had been significant but the ship itself remained unharmed and undiscovered. With Kryptonian inscriptions emblazoned across the hull, the ship continued to maintain its anonymity.

And in the darkness within, Kara Zor-El continued to sleep.

THE END


End file.
